


How i’ve missed you

by COTC



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin
Genre: Faceless Arya, Faceless Gendry, Gendry is a Baratheon, Gendrya - Freeform, Jon Snow and Gendry Waters are Best Friends, Warg Arya Stark, jonrya
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-17
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2020-12-21 02:17:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 15
Words: 33,846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21067139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/COTC/pseuds/COTC
Summary: Arya finally get back to westeros after 6 years at Essos, she’s 18 and still want revenge from those who wronged her pack.





	1. Gendry

**Author's Note:**

> This story have plagued my mind for long enough so i’ll try to put it out here,  
this is my first fan fic and English is not my native language so be kind if you have the time to correct me or ignore the typos and have fun.

He was walking out from the dragonglass mining site when he noticed the little boat approaching on the bay of dragon stone, a ship with white sails docked behind.

“Someone is landing on the beach, sent for Jon Snow.” Gendry shouted to some of the free folk that was now staring at the little boat with intrigued eyes.

After they went inside the cave looking for Jon, he started to make his way down to the beach and was being followed by some of the man. 

A skinny boy and a dwarf was already pulling the boat to the shore dragging it with little difficulty through the sand. 

The boy was the first to take notice of him approaching and when their eyes met Gendry nearly forgot how to breath, a young woman with a hair windswept cut short like a boy, three braids on the left side of her head helping keep the hair off of her face, gray and big eyes full of distrust staring right into his soul, it wasn’t a boy, it was a ghost.

“Arry?” He managed to ask through ragged breath.

He saw the shift in the young woman stance, disbelief plain in her face.

“Arya? Is that you?” He asked taking a step forward without even realize it.

Her face hardened, he saw her jaw tighten.

“Gendry.” She acknowledged him. Her voice collected, nothing like the childish screech that it used to be. 

“Arry... where...how did you...” he had so many questions he couldn’t managed to stay in one line of thought. He started to close the gap between them once again and then he felt her feet hitting hard on his shin.

“Shit!! What the fuck was that for?” He shouted to her jumping in one feet grabbing his shin with both hands. 

“That was for leaving me you stupid bullheaded bastard!!” She shouted back at him. The little man behind her looking shocked and trying to pull her away from him, she shoved the man off and kept glaring at him.

“What? It was YOU the one who left!!” He shouted back, giving her a glare of his own.

“No it wasn’t, Sor Gendry of Hollow Hill!” She said with disdain.

Gendry let out a tired sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. How could she make his head hurt after only two minutes of being reunited was beyond his understanding. “Arya...” he began to say but she cutted him off.

“Don’t you dare to use that tone with me, you are not my brother!” She growled at him. “Actually I think we’re already done here, i’d like to talk with the one in charge.”She stated, commanding tone in her voice and as soon as the words left her mouth he saw her jaw clenching again and her stance change, preparing to fight.


	2. Arya

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They talk a lot on the first chapters... please tell me if things are confusing

Her heart was pounding so hard on her ribcage that it was making hard to breathe. Of all the times she imagined herself getting back to westeros, she never imagined that the very first person her eyes would fall upon was going to be Gendry fucking Waters, He was even taller than she remembered and stronger too, she wasn’t prepared for that at all, even more so with him staring at her as if she were something out of this world, with eyes so blue and full of tenderness that if she didn't know better she could almost forget that he had abandoned her. Six years of anger hidden back taking the best of her as usual.

“Actually I think we’re already done here, i’d like to talk with the one in charge.” She asked to the men gathered around them, and then she felt it, it was undeniably there, she was so familiar to that feeling that she could sense it from miles, FEAR. the men started to make way for a tall man with dark hair and dark beard, they feared him, and she found her left hand going to hover over Needle’s hilt without realizing that. His presence was so dense and the effect he had on the men was so astonishing she totally forgot she was arguing with Gendry.

“Can someone explain me what is this folly?” The man asked looking serious at a grumpy Gendry and then his eyes met hers, gray hard eyes stared at her, and then went big as a plate, that made her grip on Needles hilt tightens and she looked suspiciously at the man, his eyes went to her hip at her sword and his expression softened.

“Don’t you remember me, little sister?” He offered her a smile and then she saw it, she could never forget that smile, that smile was Needle, was Winterfell, was Home.

She couldn’t believe her eyes, she barely recognized the fact that tears were rolling down her cheeks, he stepped forward opening his arms and she jumped forward throwing her arms around his midsection, she hugged him tightly afraid that he could fade away somehow. He hugged back just as tight and she buried her face in his chest, breathing in his scent and it made her feel like 9 again, safe again, at home. He stepped back a little just so he could cradle her face in both his cold hands like a delicate treasure, and then she saw that she was not the only one crying. 

“I’ve missed you.” They both said at the same time and then smiled to each other. He kissed her forehead tenderly and hugged her tightly again. And she wanted nothing more to this moment to last forever. But then she heard someone cleaning it’s throat and reality brought her back.

“Jon Snow.” Tyrion Lannister greeted animatedly. 

Jon loosened himself from their embrace but kept his arm around her shoulder clearly not wanting to leave her too.

“Lord Tyrion.” Jon greeted back at him cautiously. “I heard you had fled westeros after killing your father, and heard that Queen Cersei had a reward for your head for that... kinda risky coming back to such a place.”

“Indeed.” The imp said sheepishly, “but necessary none the less.” he added.

“I’m sure it must be, I remember you used to be a clever man and if i’m not mistaken you are my good-brother as well, come, you must be tired, let’s find some place where you can rest and then later we can discuss about whatever it is needed to be discussed.” Tyrion bowed slightly and Jon brought her closer to himself and started to lead them to the keep. She was holding into the leather of his doublet so tight that she might rip it, but she was so afraid to let go of him that she couldn’t help herself.

He gave order for a pretty young man to take Lord Tyrion to a comfortable room and to bring him food and wine and then bring the same to his chambers where he was going to talk to his sister in private. The way he talk and give orders reminding her so much of their father.

They entered his chambers and Arya noticed how simple he kept his things, no luxury of any kind, like a proper northerner. 

“So... i heard you’re the Lord Commander now.” She asked taking the seat he motioned to her

“Not exactly, at least not anymore.” he walked to grab another chair and took a seat across from her, she instantly missed his contact and dragged the chair a little close to him taking his hand in hers. “I think i’m not ready to let you go yet.” She said sheepishly. He let out an amused laugh.

“I think i’m not neither. I’m so glad that you came back to me.” He said pushing one of the loose strands of her hair and stucking it behind her ear. “Short look good on you.” He said and she let a laugh of her own.

“It wasn’t really a choice you know... but thanks... i guess?” She said avoiding his gaze, she was never comfortable with compliments.

“Where have you been Arya?” He asked concern all over his face. “Why didn’t you came to me earlier?”

“I tried to... I really did! It was the first thing that came to my mind, but I couldn’t and the circumstances leaded me to essos instead.”

“Who brought you that far from me?” He asked 

“No one. I went there all by myself. ” She answered. She wanted to tell him everything but will he understand all the things she did? She decided to change the subject instead “What are you doing so far south? Is that men at the beach what i think they are? Wildlings?”

“Yes, the free folk, a lot happened here and i presume a lot happened to you too... I’m sorry I wasn’t there to keep you safe.”

“You were.” she said touching needle’s hilt and smiling at him. 

“That’s Needle?” He asked in awe.

She nodded and unsheathed Needle to put it in his hands. “Of course it’s Needle.” She said smiling at him. She watched he look the skinny blade he had mikken make for her, touching Winterfell blacksmith’s mark with his thumb.

“I’ve thought it was been taken from you.” He said idly still studying the blade.

“How do you...” she started to ask but then realized. “That stupid big mouth bullhead.” She added furious and Jon looked at her outburst. “What is he doing here anyway? What he did to been taken to the night watch?”

“He is not officially a brother of the night watch.” Jon said slowly like he was measuring his words and studying her responses. Arya hold his gaze inquiring him to continue and he gave in.  
“That’s not my story to tell, Arya. You’ll have to ask him, all i can say is that he came to castle black three years ago and he been helping us since then, but he never took the vows, he is doing it only because he want to.” 

“And you two had been talking about me behind my back since then?” She said irritated.

“We didn’t even knew where you were, little sister.” Her fury died just a little after heard he call her little sister again. “He was the only one that had brought me any information about you since Cersei caught father prisoner. And I was eager to hear everything he could tell me about you.”

“What exactly he told you?” She was suddenly feeling very conscious and afraid to look at Jon’s eyes. Will he understand the things i did? Will he think i’m a monster?

“A lot..” he gave her.

“Did he...told you we met as recruits of the night’s watch?” Jon only nodded, and she continued looking at her knees fidgeting on some tread in the hem of her doublet. “Did he told you about the night Yoren died?” She added with a voice so low she wasn’t sure he heard her until he spoke again.

“He did.” He answered her and she was very scared of looking into his eyes and find him disgusted of the man she had killed... 

“Did you...” she started but couldn’t finish the sentence.

“Go on... you can ask me anything.” His voice was so caring she decided to say it anyway.

“Did you still love me? Even knowing that i...i have killed man since i was...9?” She still couldn’t lift her eyes and then she felt him moving of his seat and felt his fingers lifting her chin making her eyes meet his.

“Of course i love you, and knowing that you killed your way out of that Lannister carnage with the blade i gave you was probably the most proudest moment of my life.” He said, love pouring in each word and she just jumped into his lap throwing her arms around him burying her face in the crook of his neck. He hugged her back, hand touching the back of her head like he was holding a baby. A knock on the door brought them to reality once again and she seated on her chair once more while Jon said to the person on the other side to come in.

The pretty boy of early came bringing food and wine as Jon had asked him to.

“is Lord Tyrion well accommodated?” Jon asked as the boy laid the food and wine on the small table by the window.

“Yes, he was accommodated on Lord Stannis chambers my Lord.” 

“Thank you Satin.” Jon said to the boy and he bowed his head.

“Thank you.” Arya said to him as he passed her and he looked at her face and gave her a shy little smile.

“I’m at your orders my lady.” He said with a soft voice. Arya flinched.

“Please just Arya is fine, i’m not a lady.” He just bowed giving her another smile and left closing the door.

“What he did to become a brother of the nights watch?” She asked Jon curiosity etched in her face.

“Why the sudden interest in my steward? Found him pretty?” He asked in mocking tone but Arya could feel something she couldn’t quite place hidden behind his eyes. Arya shrugged.

“He is pretty.” She stated. “but it’s cause something Yoren said to me when he took me in...” 

“And what was that?” He asked her intrigued.

“half of them will turn you over to the queen for a pardon and some silver, the other half will do the same, but will rape you first.” She said with sad eyes from the hard memory of her father beheading day.

Jon went to her and took her in his arms again, hugging her so tight she could feel all the pieces of her soul getting back together for one brief moment. 

“If anyone ever try to do something... ever try to touch a single hair of your head I...”his voice was low, almost a growl, she felt her heart speed up a little.

“If anyone try anything against me, will be the last time they’ll take a breath...” she said stubbornly to him and that made him laugh a little.

“Fierce little thing.” He said affectionately.

“I’m not worried about them, you know... I just can’t see that man as a rapist or a thief... he seem so delicate, it’s weird really...but he reminds me of Sansa somehow.” She said and the memories of Sansa standing beside the queen invaded her thoughts. Jon was looking sad as well.

“I really don’t know what he did, he never told us, but he is a good man, he is trustworthy.” Jon said looking at her.

“Good. It’s good to know you have man you can trust by your side.” She said looking at his face.

“I do trust them, my brothers and the free folk too.” He stated gently, like he was reassuring her that she was safe there.  
“Now, i think we better eat this stew before it gets cold.” 

“I think so.” She let out a little smile.

“What about the crew on that ship?” Jon asked her and she just shrugged again.

“They are probably already gone.” She stated. Jon was looking confused and so she explained “Pirates.”

“Pirates?” Jon asked amused

“Yeah, it took some persuasion to make them help us.” She said with a shy smile.

“I suspect you became very good at it.” Jon said with a smile of his own.

“Kind of.” Arya replied taking a spoon full of stew to her mouth, the taste was good, way better than the food she’d been eating on that ship.

“So... will you tell me where you’ve been? And why you have Lord Tyrion with you?”  
Jon asked parting some bread and soaking it in the soup.

“I really didn’t wanted to bring him with me... but she wouldn’t let me come alone...We’re here to take the seven kingdoms for our queen and he’s supposed to rule in her absence until she arrive.” She stated as a matter of fact.

“Your queen?” He looked confused.

“The true queen of the seven kingdoms. Daenerys Targaryen.”


	3. Jon

He haven’t felt this happy and whole since before he left Winterfell, his little sister was alive and was finally back to him. And yet it was like she wasn’t totally here, every time he asked where she had been she evaded the subject, and he knew better than to push her. But it did nothing to make his worries go away.

He wanted to stay with her but needed to keep his focus on his task.

Arya talked to him a lot about her queen. Daenerys surely seemed to be a impressive woman, and it was plain to him that she was some sort of hero to his little sister, and he didn’t like to admit but he felt a little bit jealous of that. He left Arya resting in his chambers and decided to go talk to Tormund to see how much they managed to dig that day.

It wasn’t a surprise when he found Gendry waiting for him on the corridor outside his chambers.

“How is she?” Gendry asked him.

“Resting now, she ate the stew like she’d been starving for days...” Jon answered looking tired.

“She definitely didn’t seemed weak by the beach, the little brat.” Gendry stated showing Jon his shin bloodied where she had kicked him. Jon snorted and Gendry scowled at him.

“Sorry, but that it’s so Arya.” Jon said affectionately “why she kicked you?”

“She said it was for leaving her, like she wasn’t the one who fled. We looked for her for months!! ” The blacksmith said outraged.

“Give her some time, i’m sure she cares enough about you if she even cared to talk about what have hurt her.” Jon reasoned with his friend.

“I guess so... did she told you where she’d been all this time?”Gendry asked.

“Essos.” Jon stated.

“What she’d been doing there?” The blacksmith wanted to know.

“She didn’t said much... but she said she was with Daenerys Targaryen.” Jon said sighing 

“Who the fuck is that?” 

“She’s the daughter of the mad king, the last Targaryen, she claims to be the true queen of the seven kingdoms and have 3 full grown dragons.” Jon said to his friend.

“Did you think dragon fire...” Gendry started to say

“I thought exactly the same thing... we could use her help... but there is one problem, Arya promised to help her gain the north... but i don’t know how we’re going to convince the north to bend his knees to the seven kingdoms again...”

“Well... you’re the king in the north. And besides... there will be no north for them if we don’t defeat the dead.” Gendry reasoned.

“I know that... but they don’t even want to believe about the Others...and northerners are stubborn like mules.” Jon said frustrated.

“Aye... where is this queen and her dragons?” Gendry asked

“She is still at Essos, I don’t know where exactly... I don’t know why, but Arya won’t give any information of her time there...” Jon sighed running his hand through his hair.

“She used to be the type that wouldn’t shut up about the things she had seen... just give her some time...”Gendry pointed.

“She was, wasn’t she? She used to trust me with her secrets, but now... I don’t know... and by the way, I think I should warn you, she might be pissed at you for ‘talking behind her back’ while she was gone.” Jon said looking at his friend.

“What? That’s just perfect! Thank you!” Gendry sighed looking tired

“Sorry for that...i tried to reason with her but she is a northerner so...” Jon said with a chuckle

“I think I should hide before she release her wrath upon me...again...” gendry stated. 

“I think that could be wise.” Jon let out a laugh.

“No... seriously Jon... we’re not making much progress on the dragonglass weapons... I think I should go and at least try to see if i master Mott had any idea of how to do it...” Gendry looked serious now, Jon knew he had been wanting to go back to Flea Bottom to ask for the help of his former master but it was too risky, he looked so much like Robert Baratheon now and if word of it reaches Cersei she could have his head on a spike.

“we already discussed this...”Jon said exausted.

“Yeah...and we still have not solved the problem. Making blades by knapping will be a waste of dragonglass, We need to know how to make the best of that Jon... and as soon as possible, we don’t know how much it will take for the Dead to start marching south...i can’t help but feel like we are running out of time.” Gendry's blue eyes were sure, and asking Jon to see that this was the only chance they had.

“You know i feel the same... but Cersei already tried to kill you once, this could be dangerous not only for you... but for your master too.” Jon said trying his best to put some sense inside the blacksmith head.

At that moment the door of Jon's chamber opened suddenly and Arya appeared with her arms crossed over her chest and a annoyed look in her face.

“I thought you were asleep.” Jon said trying to sound innocent feeling like a kid that just had been caught steeling from the kitchens.

“It’s hard to sleep when are people on the other side of the door talking about you behind your back.” She bit back looking irritated.

“You were eavesdropping then?” Gendry said with a irritated tone of his own.

“It’s not my fault, you two weren’t exactly whispering.” Arya replied arching a eyebrow.

“I’m sorry we have disturbed your rest m’lady.” Gendry said sarcastically 

“Don’t call me that!” Arya said between teeth. “You two... get in!” She said taking a step back and standing on the side of the door making room for the two to pass through it. Jon entered the room again without saying a word.

“As m’lady commands.” Jon heard Gendry say while he was entering the room behind him and looked back just in time to see Arya’s fist hit the blacksmith ribs.


	4. Gendry

After several hours seated at Jon’s chambers listening to Arya’s story Gendry had his shin, rib and ass sore. She had scolded him more than once for interrupting her story with questions but he couldn’t help himself. Everything seemed so impossible. So she had been caught by the hound and had left him to die by the trident, had tried to get to the wall but ended at Braavos and joined a cult of the Death-god, left them and travelled alone to find Daenerys and now is here to take the 7 kingdoms for her... that was just too much information at once...

“So... do you think the faceless man can be looking for you?” Jon asked her after her story ended.

“That’s very possible...i’ve been hiding my identity since i left them, actually i’ve been doing that since Joffrey took father’s head, so I’m really not looking forward to get back been Arya Stark.” she said without blinking. 

“And how exactly you’re supposed to take the seven kingdoms for Daenerys alone?” Gendry asked her crossing his arms in front of him.

“I’m gonna kill Cersei.” She stated like she was saying that she was going to take a walk by the beach. 

“And how do you intend to do that?” Gendry inquired further.

“We’re you listening to what i said at all? The Faceless man bit might have escaped your stupid ears?” She said in her annoying tone.

“How that even...” He started to ask but she cut him off.

“I’m not getting in details about that now... i talked about what you two were so eager to know, now i wanna know what you two were talking about the Others and the Dead marching south.” She said looking directly at Jon’s eyes with her brow arched.

Jon sighed “They are real Arya, all the stories old Nan said about them. And they are creating an army of dead man, that’s why we let the free folk pass south of the wall...”

“If the living are all south of the wall than we’re done, right? The wall were built to keep them out, right? Right??” Arya wasn’t skeptical about the existence of the others like people normally did. 

“We hope so... but that don’t stop them to be gathering dead to their army, and if they somehow find the winter horn... and blew the wall down... we have to have a way to defeat them. Dragonglass can kill them, dragonsteel can do it too, whatever it is, and fire... but we don’t have enough of any of that.” Jon stated looking at her without hiding the fear he felt.

“Who else is going to fight with us?” She inquired looking at both of them

“We have sent ravens to all seven kingdoms telling them about the threat... but the only one that answered was Lord Stannis...” Jon said looking defeated 

“Well... that’s a start isn’t it?” She said trying to look confident. “Where is he?” 

“He’s dead...” Gendry said looking at his feet.

“So... we’re on our own...” she said and Gendry could still hear that confident tone in her voice. How someone so small could be so brave?

“If they found a way through the wall, everyone in they path will turn into part of their army... and the people are not even inclined to believe in them...” Jon said frustration plain in his voice.

“We have to make them see the truth then...”she started and Gendry’s own frustration came into surface.

“How exactly we gonna do that?”he said more irritated than he expected.

“Sorry for not having a answer for you after learning about the threat for about what? 5 minutes?” She said angrily crossing her arms and lifting her chin defiantly.

Jon sighed again pinching the bridge of his nose. “Can you two please stop that?” He said tiredly.

“Stop what?” Arya and Gendry said at the same time looking at Jon and then looking at each other standing both with their arms crossed in front of their bodies like a mirror’s image. 

“This pointless bickering of yours.” Jon said looking at them like they were kids.

“He star...”Arya tried to say but Jon cut her off.

“Arya...you already kicked and punched him...I think that’s enough isn’t it?” Jon said looking at her like the big brother he was, Arya dropped her eyes to the ground biting her lip. Jon stood up and walked to her holding her face up with one hand and planted a kiss on her forehead. “I have to talk with Tormund about the Dragonglass, you two stay here and don’t come out until you had resolved this issue of yours.” 

Her eyes looked like the ones of the little boy that traveled with him on the kings road all those years ago. Jon turned and went to the door stopping before closing it and said. “Arya, try not to kill him ok? We need all the man we can get for the war that comes.” 

“I can’t promise you anything.” She said looking at him with a stern face. Jon looked at him as well like he was saying good luck and closed the door behind him.


	5. Arya

The door had been shut and a uncomfortable silence fell upon the room.

“I already told you my part of the story...it’s your turn now, how did you end up with the nights watch?” She asked him seating again this time at Jon’s bed.

“After You run away, me and the brotherhood looked for you for months, we heard some rumors about the hound and a little boy, so we were trying to catchup with you two, Lord Beric thought you were dead with your mother and brother after the red wedding, and then...” Gendry suddenly stopped his story, like he was searching for the words.

“And then what?” She inquired.

“And then, when we reached the twins we saw them... the bodies of the stark men and tully, they were probably scattered there for a few days... the smell... some were been eaten by wolves already... lord beric looked on the shore of the trident and saw a woman naked... her throat had been cut so deep that you could see the bone... she had marks on her face like someone had scratched her cheeks to the bone as well... her hair a tangled mess of auburn and her skin looked like it was going to fall from the bones, like she’d been floating on the river for days...” gendry looked at her then and she tried hard to keep the tears from falling down her face, a wolf dream coming to her memory ‘come and run with us’.

“Lord beric asked thoros to pray to the lord of light so he could bring the woman’s life back but thoros said no...so lord beric gave her the kiss of life...he gave her his life so she could live again...” he stopped again looking at her but she didn’t dare to say anything afraid that her voice would crack and the tears she’d been holding would fall out.

“You remember what you told me about lord beric saying he didn’t remember things from his life? Well the woman didn’t remember much neither... the only thing she had was a huge sense of revenge...her name is Lady Stoneheart. She is now the leader of the brotherhood and one of the reasons i’m not with them anymore.” 

“Go on...” She said to him with a lump in her throat.

“We heard after a while that the hound had been spotted with a kid near the saltpans, and after a while, that he had helped on the raid of the saltpans as well... everybody told me that you had probably been killed there but i knew that you were still alive somewhere. So i waited there working on the forge of a inn, helping take care of a bunch of orphans hopping that you would hear me hitting the steel and would come back... I was there for almost 2 years when I heard about the wedding.” He said and she saw his jaw clenching.

“What wedding?” She asked him. He looked at her with that blue eyes and she couldn’t name the feeling she saw in there.

“Yours.” He said his chest rising like the memory of it still make it hard for him to breath. “With the bastard of Roose Bolton.” Images of leeches and flayed man crossed her mind.

“That fucking traitor, i would have never wed his son, I would have died trying to kill him before he could put his hands on me.”she said feeling disgusted just with the mention of it.

“I know that... and that is why i left the inn as soon as i heard about it... praying to whatever god that would listen to not let them hurt you. But when i got there at winterfell i heard that you had fled with the turncloack Theon Greyjoy. I knew you would go after your brother at the wall, we had all heard about the black bastard that was lord commander of the nights watch. So i went there too. And it wasn’t you I found when i get there... I didn’t even knew what to think really... i was relieved that the girl wasn’t you... they had done so many things to the poor girl that she was almost a ghost already, just like Theon Greyjoy. But it felt like i had lost you all over again...” he said looking down, his voice thick. 

“You went to the wall looking for me?” She said incredulous “why?”

“Cause I’m stupid and I made a mistake Arry, a big one, probably the biggest one of my life... I was scared that after you returned to your family, your mother wouldn’t let us be friends anymore, you were a princess after all, and even if they could have let me served your brother i knew it will have come a day that i would have to see you been married to some lord and leave me... you were the only friend i ever had Arya... i went north trying to find you, trying to get back to my pack.” He said looking at her with blue eyes glistening with unshed tears.

“You are really stupid” she said getting up with her voice thick, throwing her arms around him and hiding her face on his chest. “I would have never let anyone keep me for being your friend, and I would have never married a stupid lord and been sold like a broodmare.” She felt his arms hold her tight and his chin rest on the top of her head. 

“I’ve missed you.” He said with a thick voice and she hugged him tighter.

“I’ve missed you too, stupid!” She replied and she felt his chest shake with a laugh.

“Are you going to spare my life then?” He asked her in a playing tone.

“At least for another day, but don’t push your luck.” She said looking at him with a smirk. “I think we’re allowed to leave our cell now.”


	6. Jon

His mind was racing miles per second since his little sister had arrived few days ago and her presence had changed everything. He knew Arya had survived all this years without him but he couldn’t stop wanting to protect her, and knowing that maybe had people out there who can change their faces like they change clothes, and that they might be looking for his little sister to kill her, was making his guts churn.

But as long as she remained with him, he felt like he could keep her safe, at least to some point. He had seen her training at the yard with some of his men, defeating them with a grace he couldn’t believe, her movements fluid and precise.   
It was still weird for him to know that his little sister was now a skilled fighter but he couldn’t deny that he liked to see her fight. Tormund seem to like sparring with her and now only referred to her as Little Spearwife.

He had talked to Lord Tyrion about his plans and Tyrion had told him more about Daenerys, she wanted to come here herself, but it seems that Arya had made her queen promise that she would let Arya kill Cersei herself, and Tyrion had reasoned with her that this wasn’t Essos with their savage ways, they were not supposed to make the Westerosi fear her, but make them feel glad for her have saved them from Cersei and maybe it would be for the best if they didn’t come here threatening them with three dragons.

From the things they talked it seemed that Daenerys cared deeply about Arya, like she was her own sister, and for the way Arya talk about her queen, Jon thought she felt the same, strange to think that Arya never get along that well with her own sister.

Jon could remember the day Arya had born like it was yesterday, he and Robb were 5 and Sansa only 2, Robb used to say my little sister whenever they were talking about Sansa, they looked so much alike, auburn hair and pink cheeks, he treasured her like she was something that could broke with the slightest breeze, but the day Lady Catelyn gave birth to Arya, his father let the 3 of them enter her chambers to see the new baby and his eyes fall upon her, it was like his heart have been missing a piece and he didn’t even knew about it till that moment. 

The tiniest baby he had ever seen , with dark brown hair and wet long eyelashes, screaming her lungs out, but when father made him and robb sit down so they could hold the baby and he put Arya on his lap, she stopped crying and grabbed his finger with a strength he didn’t believed a baby could have, she looked right into his eyes with gray big ones, like father’s, like his...this is MY little sister, he thought to himself. 

Sansa used to be the sweetest child till that day but after seeing the new baby she became very moody, not being the baby princess of the house anymore made her jealous and she would pinch Arya whenever her mother or father weren’t looking, and after making Arya cry she would say in her little pretty voice ‘this baby is ugly’.

Jon caught her doing that one day and told her if she didn’t stop with that he would tell father, Sansa hated him for that, she stopped hurting the little baby, but never stopped tormenting his little sister.

They were all gone now... Father, Lady Catelyn and Robb. Sansa, Bran and Rickon may still alive somewhere but he never heard about any of them anymore... it was just him and Arya, the last wolfs of Winterfell. 

And he was not even human anymore, but after Arya came back to his life he started to feel again, like a fire that burned stronger inside of him whenever she was near, he craved her touch and her presence. And that was making his long sleepless nights torturous. 

He didn’t want to admit this feelings, he thought all of this had been left behind when his brothers had stuck their knives on his heart, leaving inside of him only the purpose of protecting the living. But the feelings he thought that were only because he had missed her dearly didn’t seemed to fade with time and only seemed to grew stronger every time he touched her. 

She didn’t seem to mind his touches and that somehow only made him feel worse, feeling like the monster he was.


	7. Arya

She was feeling happier than she had in ages, her brother was here, Gendry was here, but she was starting to get restless. 

She was using her energy the best she could, in the mornings she would spar at the yard, and even if none of the black brothers were as good as Greyworm, Tormund was pretty hard to defeat and had left some nasty bruises on her that she was thankful her clothes could hide because she saw the way Jon’s eyes had narrowed when Tormund hit her on her stomach the other day, and she didn’t want to lose her best sparring partner. 

She had gone to help on the Dragonglass digging once, but they didn’t let her do it, saying it was Jon’s orders.

She liked to watch Gendry at the forge but he was very frustrated lately, the heat wasn’t enough to melt the Dragonglass properly so he could cast it. And when he managed to cast something it was so brittle that it was almost useless as a weapon.

She had been avoiding Tyrion because every time he saw her, he started talking about the plan. She wanted nothing more than to kill Cersei slowly and painfully but Tyrion said that they needed her alive, to have a proper trial, that this savage way she liked to do things wasn’t the Westerosi way. 

“Fuck the Westerosi way. Cersei will gonna lie her ass out of it if she had the chance.” She told him but Dany had told her that she trusted Tyrion to know what was best to achieve their goal.

She liked the imp, he was a drunk, but a funny one, and he was a good man, seemed to had taken care of Sansa the best he could, he was clever too, but still a Lannister. And after everything she suffered in the hands of lions she couldn’t bring herself to fully trust this one. He had killed his own father, but will he be willing to let her kill someone of his family? Cersei had put a price on his head, but until Cersei’s head was resting on a spike over the gates of the red keep, Arya would keep her eyes open.

She was kind of trying to avoid Jon too, not that she didn’t want to be with him, it was actually the opposite, she felt her heart race every time she looked at him, she wanted to touch him and his scent always made it hard for her to concentrate in anything but him. Every time he touched her she felt like her body had been lit in fire and she couldn’t bring herself to get away from him.

She was starting to feel that all of that late night talking with Dany about their brothers and how Dany always thought she was going to marry Viserys, even with him being a prick, and how she wished her brothers were as good as Arya’s, saying that she would have married Robb or Jon, or both, had made her brain dysfunctional, but deep down she knew that the concept was never something that bothered her, she always knew that Aegon had married Visenya for duty and Rhaenys for lust, but what if Jon figure out the things she was feeling? He will be disgusted, she had no doubt of that. His little sister had came back but she came back twisted and broken.

There was only one thing she could do, she will take that boat and go to kingslanding and start to work on their plan to bring Dany home. That will probably take some time and hopefully will make this feelings that have been plaguing her go away.

XxxxxxxxxX

Later that night Arya found Jon talking with Tormund, Gendry and Tyrion on the great hall.

She went silently keeping herself hidden in the shadows, walking past the long dark tables until she could hear what they were talking about.

"We have searched everywhere lad, there was probably never existed this Horn of Winter." Tormund said arching his brow and laying back on the chair.

“The Others are real, dragons are real, there's a possibility that this be real too, he has the dead, if they help him find it ...” Jon was starting to say but Gendry put a hand on his shoulder and he stopped looking down tired.  
  
"We have to focus on what we can do here and now Jon, we have to believe that the wall will stand there, like it did for thousands of years and prepare for the war the best we can ... we need to focus on the weapons. ”Gendry reasoned and Tormund grunted in agreement.

“What’s the problem with the weapons?” Tyrion asked putting down the wine he been sipping while listening to their exchange.

“There’s not enough heat.” Gendry said scowling without look at Tyrion and hiding his face on his mug of ale, the distrust in him was so plain that Arya wondered how he could still be alive in this world of lies.

“There’s something that maybe could help in that hidden under the red keep.” Tyrion said taking another sip of his drink.

“Keep that shit for yourself if you like it that much.” Arya came out of the shadows, taking a mug from the table behind her she wiped the rim with her sleeve before filling it with ale and taking a seat by Tormund side. Four man starring at her with identical expressions of surprise with their brows raised. “You know that no one can control that pyromant’s piss, we want to save the living not burn them alive.” She said raising one brow and looking to the imp.

“Wildfire is known to be cousin of Dragonfire.” Tyrion said shrugging his little shoulders.

“We don’t want another Summerhall Tyrion...” the memory of the ghost of High Heart came to her mind making the hair of her nape raise, she shoved that memory away taking a sip of her ale before starting again. “you know what we need, we need Dany and her dragons. The seven kingdoms need her.” 

“Then, we have to stick to our plan my lady.” Tyrion said looking at her with his mismatched eyes, cocking his head like explaining something to a little girl. 

“Exactly.” She said lowing her mug on the table, she hated when he speaks like that to her, so she breathed deeply and looked straight at him before speak again. “Send word to Dany, tell her what’s happening here and tell her about the threat her realm is facing, i’m going to Kingslanding before the first light.” She said avoiding Jon’s eyes. 

“No!” Jon said raising his voice and rising from his seat both hands on top of the table in tight fists.

“Yes!” She said raising her voice to match his. “I’ve already made my mind Jon. I’m of no use here, and we need Dany if we want to protect the living, we had a plan before we came here and i’ll stick to it, unless you have any other plan.” She said defiantly.

He sighed sitting back on the bench, running his hand through his hair looking at the ceiling for a moment. “Even with your... talents...I don’t think it’s wise for you to go there alone, when your plan is to go there so you can figure out another plan to kidnap the queen.” He said exasperated.

“She’s not going alone.” Gendry said looking at Jon. And Jon grunted massaging his temples with his fingers with both elbows resting on the table. Arya looked at Gendry knitting her brows “I’m going with you.” He said looking at her now.

“No!” It was Arya turn to rise from her seat now. “I don’t need anyone to take care of me!” She said irritated.

“I’m not going there to take care of you.” He said with a stupid smirk on his face. “I’m going to stay at Fleabottom to try to learn about the Dragonsteel, but i’ll still be close enough if she need something.” He said looking at Jon now. 

“I don’t like the sound of this.” Jon said sincerely letting out a sigh.

“I don’t like it neither! Kingslanding is no place for someone that couldn’t even school his face when he sees a lion! I can’t take him with me Jon, I won’t be able to concentrate on my task if i had worry about him, the whole place is probably oozing with fucking Lannisters, no offense.” she added quickly looking at Tyrion.

“Non taken!” The imp said leaning on his chair , sipping his wine and looking amused by the direction things started to unfold.

“You can keep your worries for yourself, i know how to take care of me.” Gendry said offended.

“Ooohh is that so? Let me ask you one thing then, whose fault was it that we got caught by the Mountain’s men and ended up slaves at Harrenhal?” She said looking at him waiting for him to deny it.

“That was because...” Gendry tried to defend himself but Arya cut him mid sentence.

“That was because you didn’t listened to me, i told you that you were too big and loud and you just don’t fucking listened.” She said punctuating the last words beating with her index finger on the hard surface of the table. “You’re not a kid anymore and if you displease some of them, they would probably kill you straight away and leave your body on a ditch to rot and be eaten by rats.” She said fighting the sting in her eyes with the thought of such thing happening. 

“Or they can cut off his head and display it on the gates of the red keep, which i think is most likely to happen.” Tyrion said pouring more wine for himself. Arya looked at him waiting for the imp to explain what he meant but he was looking at Gendry now.

“You three make me feel like I’m one and ten again, back at Harrenhal.” He said leaning forward on the table. “I’ve been thinking about it since the moment we arrived on the beach, it was like seeing ghosts. But now that you said about Fleabottom, well... now I have no doubt.” He stated.

“And why do you care?” Gendry said in the displeased tone he liked to use with strangers.

“So you are aware of it already.” The imp said amused. 

“I am, and it doesn’t mean nothing to me.”Gendry replied irritated.

“Although it doesn’t mean anything to YOU, this is kind of a big deal in the world outside you little bubble. And pretty visible too I must say.” Tyrion said sipping his wine still looking at the blacksmith. “You shouldn’t be so reckless.”

Arya looked at Gendry, then at Jon, they were tense, even Tormund seemed to know what they were talking about. 

“Can anyone care to explain what the heck are you talking about?”

The three man looked at her surprised like they had totally forgotten she was still standing there, but Gendry had his eyes on his ale. 

It was Tyrion that broke the silence.“Your friend here happens to be a bastard of my late good-brother, Robert Baratheon.” He seemed amused and she thought it was probably because of her expression of shock. Her mind racing back at their time on the riverlands. 

“He’s not a bastard anymore.” Jon said somberly. “He was legitimized by King Stannis, he is the Lord of Storm’s End.”

“My apologies then.” Tyrion added quickly “Let me rectify, your friend here happens to be the Lord of Storm’s End and the heir of the last undisputed king of the Seven Kingdoms, cheers!” He said lifting his cup at her.

“Seven hells.” Arya let her weight fall down on the bench. “Did you knew that and never told me?” She said betrayal pouring on her words. Gendry finally lifted his gaze facing her.

“I didn’t! I swear!! I didn’t knew about it until I reached Castle Black and met Stannis again!” He said with his words racing, blue desperate eyes looking inside of hers pleading to be believed. “He went to Tobho Mott’s shop with Lord Arryn while searching for Robert’s bastards before he died, your Lord father came to the shop after that, but they only asked about my mom... i had no idea why they were asking me questions and why the Lannisters were after me! I swear Arry!” Arya let out a sigh.

“How do you think she’s gonna take this?” Arya asked looking into the mismatched eyes of the imp, he looked at her with a worried expression.

“I wonder if Viserys has poisoned her mind against Robert for too long for it to take root within her.” Tyrion said thoughtful.

“But he is innocent! He didn’t even knew the fat king!” She said frustrated. A memory of a conversation she had with Dany once, late in the night, while both girls were covered by the dark confessing their fears and the promise they made each other came into her mind. Fear and sadness filled her chest.

“We know that.” Tyrion said compassionated “And I’m pretty confident that being your friend will help in his case, IF she didn’t think of him as a threat to her claim.” He said looking now at Gendry. “Are you?” He asked bluntly.

“No!” Gendry answered irritated “Why would i want that fucking crown?”

“Most man want power.” Tyrion said in a practical tone.

“I don’t even wanted Storm’s End. Stannis didn’t even asked what I thought about it, imposed it to me because he was probably feeling guilty about something saying that a Baratheon should keep ruling over the Stormlands.” Gendry said with a scowl looking down at his mug again.

“You were given a castle and you don’t want it?” Tyrion asked amused.

“Why would I want to go to a place where a bunch of high borns will stare at me like a dog that stole their ham?” Gendry said bitterly.

“Who’s taking care of Storm’s End now?” Tyrion asked curiously.

“Don’t know, don’t care.” Gendry said shrugging and taking a sip of his ale.

“So, you were born a bastard, and never desired having a castle, money and a name to give to a wife and children?” Tyrion inquired the blacksmith. Gendry eyes darted at Arya’s direction and their eyes met for a fraction of a second before his eyes went back to his mug in a scowl. Was that meant to mean anything or was him just being his stupid self looking in her eyes to see if she was going to mock him about it? Arya decided to ignore the way her heart leaped with the brief eye contact.

“That kind of dreams are just a waste of time for a low born bastard.” He said without looking up. Yep, same old stupid bull.

“But you got it anyway,didn’t you? I think you should go there, if not for the castle and the money, at least to piss them high borns asses off.” Tyrion said laying back on his chair with a mischievous grin before drinking from his cup again.

Gendry lifted his eyes looking with that stupid face he always did when he was thinking too much. Arya decided that they had drifted away from the subject for long enough.

“Well... i think congratulations are in order then.” She said looking at Gendry bringing the attention back to her. “It’s always a pleasure to spend time in such a gracious company but I’m going to prepare myself.” She added standing up and passing one foot over the bench avoiding Jon’s eyes. Jon and Gendry stood up at the same time.“You’re not going!” Jon said while Gendry was saying “I’m going with you!”. She leaned over the table, supporting her weight on both hands looking from Jon to Gendry. “Yes, I will! And No, you won’t.” And looking for the other two man still seated she added bowing her head a little.”if you’ll excuse me.” And turned in her heels.

“I need your help!” Gendry said on his low voice. Arya halted and turned around slowly looking suspiciously at him. “Please?” Gendry added less confident than before. Arya let out a tired sigh.

“If I’m going to help you, we need to make something very clear here.” She said crossing her arms. “You will do as I tell you to do. If i tell you to hide, you will hide. If i tell you to stay, you will stay. And if i tell you to leave me and come back here, you will do exactly that. No arguing.” She said defiantly lifting her chin. she knew the stubborn bull will never agree not to argue about an order anyway.

“I’ll follow your rules.” Gendry said without hesitation. Shit! 

“But I won’t follow it blindly, if I see a hole on your plot I’m gonna argue with you.” He said and she felt the sweet taste of victory. 

“That’s a no then.” She said looking at him satisfied with his answer. “My lords.” She said to the men gathered bowing her head, before she turn in her heels again. 

“Lady Stark, so you ask me to swallow my pride but you can’t swallow yours?”Gendry said from behind her making her blood start to boil. 

“It’s not a matter of pride Lorde Baratheon, it’s survival. We’re at war, in war we do what we have to do. I’ll not let you ruin the plan because of your thick head.” She said irritated without looking back.

“And i’m not going to let you run into danger because of your temper and not try to stop you because of a stupid oath.” The voice behind her was confident but still somehow pleading . She knew he wasn’t wrong, she inhaled slowly trying to keep her emotions leveled.

“Fine...” she said after a moment. She heard the sound of a bench dragging on the floor and long strides going in the direction of the heavy doors of the great hall, she turned around to see Jon’s back passing through the doors. She will have to deal with him later.

“I think I have to postpone my plans.” She said looking at Tyrion. He nodded looking with a concerned face to the place where Jon disappeared on the shadows. “I’ll talk with him later.” She added with her heart heavy, she hated being the one to make Jon troubled, but she needed to stay away from him for a while and it would be good to feel useful again.

“He will probably beat the shit out of something on the training yard.” Tormund said with a knowing tone.

“So maybe I should go down there and beat that tantrum’s out of him.” She said to her sparring partner with smug smirk. He barked a laugh at that.

“That would be something I would like to watch.” He said smiling at her. She turned on her heels again and after few steps she stopped, looking over her shoulder.

“Are you coming or not?” She said to Gendry who was looking at the door as well, and kept walking when his steps started to follow her, when he paired with her she slapped the back of his head.

“Hey!” He said slouching forward running his hand over the place she just slapped. “Why you did this?” He said looking at her with a scowl.

“You know why.” She said defiantly, still walking without look at him. The next thing she felt was a strong push on her left side making her take three steps to the right to keep her balance, she looked at him perplexed.

“You said it too.” He said with that stupid smirk on his face.


	8. Gendry

Gendry followed her all the way up to Jon’s chambers, she passed it and started to unlock the door right next to it. He realized then that that was her chambers and he felt like he shouldn’t be there, with her, alone.

She opened the door and stepped in, opening it a bit further so he could follow her, he didn’t move, and she looked at him still leaning on the door before rolling her eyes.

“Do you want my help or not?” she asked impatiently.

“I do... but I don’t think is proper for me to enter your chambers like this...” he said running his hand on the back of his head.

“Like what? A idiot with two legs,two arms and a stupid big head? I can’t see how you can get inside here any differently, but if there is any part of you that you think shouldn’t enter here I can cut it out for you.” she said annoyed.

He stepped in, her room was a mess of clothes scattered all over the bed and the floor. “Shit!! We should tell Jon that someone broke into your room!” he said alarmed looking at her.

"It was me." She said sheepishly closing the door. "I said I needed to get ready!" She added, her cheeks turning in a faint shade of pink while she hanged Needle on the wall. Gendry tried to remember if he had ever seen Arya blush. 

“I can see you wasn't lying...” he said picking up from the floor a horrendous tunic with a lot of frills he couldn’t imagine Arya wearing. “this is probably the most ridiculous thing i’ve ever seen, you have really bad taste for clothing!” he said hanging the tunic in front of his face to see it better.

"Don't be stupid, this is not mine!" She said in her annoyed tone. He looked at her intrigued "these clothes were in that chest" she said, pointing with her head to the chest against the wall, while pushing the clothes scattered over the bed to the side creating a space. “Now, stop playing and sit down.” She said jerking the fabric from his hands and throwing it over the pile she had created. 

He eyed the bed suspiciously. “Are you sure there's nothing dead here?” He jested and she rolled her eyes again.

"No need to worry, the dead things are in that bag over there." She said pointing with her chin to the bag hanging on the wall next to Needle with a mischievous grin. he enjoyed moments like this, when she was carefree, when she was just Arya. “now sit your ass down!” she commanded pushing him down and his weight fell on the soft bed. 

“So... we have two options.” She started with a pragmatic tone. “The first one is relatively simple, we have to break this combination of blue eyes and thick black hair, and knowing we can do nothing about the color of your eyes, the best option is to shave your head, you can use a wig and i can give you some different features, some warts, burning scars, pox scars, the problem with this one is the heat of the smithy, I don’t know if this can endure all the heat and sweat. But you got the ideia right? the less attractive you are, the less people will care to notice you.” She stated.

“So you think I’m attractive?” He said playfully.

“I didn’t said that.” She replied annoyed.

“So you don’t think I’m attractive.” He said in a forced hurt tone. She laughed a little. How he had missed that little sound, he wished he could hear it more often. 

“I didn’t said that either.” she said in a collected tone turning her back at him, his pulse quickened by the way she said that. “just for the record, what I think about you is that you're stupid.” She said without looking at him searching for something inside the bag in the wall. 

she came back with something flabby with a skin tone in her hands. "What's this?" He asked, feeling suddenly a little uncomfortable. She held it in front of her body, a human face dangling from two fingers. 

"Option two," she said darkly.

“Seven hells Arya!” Gendry said jumping up from the bed and walking away from the face she was holding. “I thought you were kidding!!”

“I wasn’t.” She stated, like it was a common thing to have a person’s face inside their bag. “I like to think of myself as a very honest person, actually.” She said looking strangely amused.

“That’s just fucking disgusting!” He blurted out.

“It is, isn’t it?” she said with a disgusted face of her own, turning the face around so she could have a better look of it too. 

“Is that real? Like really real?”he asked warily. 

“Yes.” she said putting the face down on the bed. “I don’t know if this going to work for you, l didn’t wore a face from the start, you know... but we dont have to worry about the heat with this option, the only problem is that you have to make an offering to him for it to work, assuming that it will work, but I’m not entirely sure.” she said biting he lower lip. 

“And what do i need to offer?” he asked worried. 

“He’s the god of death Gendry, what do you think he wants from you? A song? Of course is blood.” she said rolling her eyes. 

“I’ll have to kill someone?” He asked feeling alarmed.

“Not that much blood, just a little cut on your forehead right under the hairline.” She said like it was just a needle prick in the finger. “It’s not guaranteed, but, do you want to try?” She asked shyly. 

He thought about ir for a moment, if it doesn’t work he will have cut himself for nothing, but if it works he would have the perfect disguise to go to Kingslanding. “I’ll try it.” he said finally. sitting back on the bed beside the human mask.

She took the blade she carried on her belt and held it in front of her. “I sharpened it this morning, can you do it yourself or do you want me to do it for you?” she asked in a practical way. 

“Do it” he said looking at her, even seated he was about the same height as her, she took a step forward, standing between his legs. He tried his best to keep his breath leveled with her proximity.

“Stay still.” she ordered and he closed his eyes knitting his brows when her blade started to cut his flesh, an acute pain on his scalp, he could feel the blood start to slip over his face. “open your eyes.” she said to him, and he did, she was holding the face right in front of him. “put it on” she instructed him and he obeyed once more. when the new face covered his, he felt his blood being absorbed by it and he felt the face start to stuck over his own, moving like it was his own skin. 

He was having some flashes on his mind like memories, fears, hopes and secrets that wasn’t his own. When he look up at her she was looking at him with wonder in her eyes. She have never looked at him like this before, he tried not to wonder if this man’s face was attractive to her. His mind was already pretty busy without this kind of thoughts. 

“What is these things that are going in my mind?” He asked dizzy. 

“His memories...some of them.” She said with big gray eyes looking at him “How do you feel?” she asked concerned. 

“A bit dizzy... this isn’t exactly a pleasant experience to be honest.”he replied feeling weird for not hear his own voice, his hands were smaller and soft and his clothes felt big for him now.

“Wait until you sleep...the nightmares are the worst, but they won’t last forever.” She said touching the mask and he could feel her fingers on it like it was his own face. “Wow, I didn’t though that it was really going to work... I definitely need to try this on someone else. But maybe what they say is true after all.” she said more to herself than to him.

“What who say what?” he asked confused looking up at her now. 

“Some people say that there is power in a king’s blood, but it could be something different... maybe it’s Elenei’s blood... I don’t know what it is, but I think the many-faced god liked your blood. Sometimes I wonder if he can taste it or if he just like to see it spilled.” she said thoughtful.

Gendry lifted himself from the bed and stood in front of her, he was still taller than her, but she was now up to his nose when normally she wouldn’t made up to his chin. He went to see his reflection on the window. The man that looked back at him was around his 30 namedays. He had a muscular jaw, brown hair and small eyes he squinted at him at the reflexion. 

“What?” She asked looking at his expression.

“Nothing... is just weird, but it feel so real...” He said touching his face, opening and closing his mouth and eyes to see if the reflection would do the same, before start to flex his fingers and arms. He refrained the urge to check what else might have shrunk.

“It is real, it really changes your appearance, it’s not the same kind of magic like a glamor that only change the way people see things.” she stated.

He thought about when he was a smith’s apprentice at master mott’s service and never even thought that such things really existed, let alone that they could ever happen to him.

“So... do you think this will work for you?” She said dragging his mind back. “You’ll have to get used to his limitations... he wasn’t a smith so I think you’ll be sore for a while...” she started to explain to him. 

“When we’re leaving?”he asked her.

“As soon as we’re ready, I think you should go to the smithy tomorrow with the face, see how it is to work with his body and his strength, we have to prepare the dragonglass we’re gonna take with us, I need to talk with Tyrion about Dany and have to deal with Jon...” she said, concern etched in her face. “Do you want to keep it on?” she asked looking at him warily. 

“Do I have to?” he asked uncertain.

“Not if you don’t want to, but you’ll have to cut yourself again to put it on.” she explained. “pull it up from your chin if you want to take it off.” 

He did it and the thing peeled off from his face. he dropped it back on top of the mattress. Gendry touched his face looking for the blood but his fingers were clean, and the cut in his forehead gone. 

“That’s his way to show he is merciful.” She said shrugging her shoulders. “I’ll keep this here for you.” she picked the face from the bed and turned to put it back inside the bag. Gendry couldn’t help wonder what kind of things she might have hidden there. 

He looked at his reflection on the window again and felt glad to see the familiar traces. The smith looked at his hands, calloused and with scars, and wondered if girls do liked to be touched with soft pink ones. 

“Are you worried you can’t smith with his hands? I’m sure you’ll be good enough in no time, he’s not as strong as you but he’s not that soft, I used to serve on ships with his face while I was on my way to get to Dany, you’ll be fine.” She said in a reassuring manner.

“Is him attractive?” He asked before realizing how that have may sounded. “I mean, isn’t him going to attract too much attention?” He added quickly. She looked at him with that face she did when she was evaluating something.

“I never had problems with him... he’s plain.” She said still looking at him with slightly narrowed eyes.

“Do you think so?” He inquired her wondering if she ever fancied any man, and what kind of man would that be.

“Are you serious? The dead are gathering an army and you’re worried about your looks?” She said incredulous. “Are you upset that girls won't recognize you without your striking blue eyes?” She said in a annoyed mocking tone. 

“What? I’m not... I didn’t meant it like that...” he said stammering his words. Damn it! His face was starting to feel hot, he was never very good at talking with girls even at Kingslanding. The only one he ever felt really comfortable enough was the one in front of him and now she thought that he was just a vain idiot.

"Hmm, whatever ..." she said disinterestedly turning toward the door. 

"Where are you going?" He asked following her steps instinctively. 

"I'll go find Jon," she said holding the door open so he could pass. "Tomorrow I'll bring the face for you in the forge," she said as she locked the door, she turned to him and her eyes didn't hold the same warmth as before. "Good night, Gendry." she said tightly and turned toward the stairs, before he could even respond, leaving him alone in the hallway.

“Oh, well done, you stupid idiot.” He said to himself while watching her figure disappear down the stairs.


	9. Arya

She was angry, not exactly with Gendry, she was angry with herself for letting the thoughts of the girls he might have known before her at Kingslanding bother her.

She knew the way girls, and even older women looked at him back when they were at Harrenhal and with the Brotherhood. Whispering and chuckling like Sansa and Jeyne used to do. He was probably accustomed to ring the bells of girls who approached him complimenting his arms or his eyes. She let out a stressed grunt. That. Just. Doesn’t. Matter. Arya reminded herself, she shouldn’t be stressing over this. She had more important things to do than to think about who’s bells he might have rang. Damn...She needed to hit something.

She was almost at the yard and the sound of steel hitting wood was getting louder and louder. She ran her hand to her belt looking for Needle just to find out she hadn’t picked it up before leaving her room and now she wanted to blame that on Gendry too, for making her leave the room in such a haste. 

She went in the shadows hiding until she saw Jon hitting one training dummy with a blunt sword. Of course he wouldn’t use Longclaw just to let his frustrations out. Arya entered the armory and picked up a blunt sword as well, it was very different from her sword, she tried it’s balance to see if she could fight with it, it was much heavier and longer than her Needle and she wouldn’t be able to strike it as quickly as she was used to, but it wasn’t impossible. 

She circled the yard still hidden, carrying her sword until she was close enough to stop one of Jon’s upstrokes from underneath before his sword touched the wood again. Jon looked at her surprised with his eyes round. 

“You never sparred with me.” she said lowering her sword and holding it at her back. 

“I didn’t want to hurt you.” he said sour. 

“I’m flattered by your consideration Your Grace.” she said bowing to him and Jon scowled at her. 

“I’ve seen you fight since you came here.” he said with superiority.

“And i’ve seen you fight since I was born. You only know who’s winning a fight after you fought it brother.” She replied tightening the grip on the sword on her back. “Let’s see how much you have improved.” She said launching herself forward and striking a blow at Jon’s right side. He lifted his sword just on time of stopping her sword, taking a step back to regain his balance after the surprise atack . Their swords crossed just above Jon’s right shoulder.

“Where’s your Needle?” He asked her looking at her blunt sword. 

Arya didn’t wanted to admit to him that she had forgot Needle in her room because she was eager to avoid Gendry. “I didn’t want to hurt you.” She said mimicking him instead, before attack him again. 

He was strong, and quick too, the impact of some of his blows ran down painfully through her arms, they fought for a while just learning and measuring the fight style of one another, he tried to disarm her sliding his sword along her blade, bringing their body’s close and grabbing the hilt of Arya’s sword before twisting it so he could gain the control of the two weapons but she jumped following the movement with her body, keeping her sword tightly on her hands before landing on one knee and swiping the blunt blade on Jon’s leg bringing him down. She stood up quickly and swatted his sword away with her own. 

Jon kicked her sword, making it fall away from her before swiping her feet bringing her down on her back. She turned her body and crawled to get her sword back but he pulled her by the foot before she could grab it and used the impulse to push his weight over her, holding her both arms in place in a tight embrace from behind before putting them both up on their knees. 

She yanked her head hitting his nose with the back of her head and his hold loosened a bit so she hit his ribs with one elbow. Arya yanked herself up in one foot turning to hit his head with her fist but he stopped the her hand and she had to twist it quickly before he could grab it and hold her again. 

He was standing again, and she didn’t gave him time to think, she was kicking and punching him and he blocked most of her blows, until she finally felt the back of his hand hiting hard on her face, but her blood was hot and she barely felt any pain. “there you go.” she said under the breath fighting to control the smirk that was almost showing in her face. 

She saw his eyes dark before he launched himself on her direction, she waited and turned her body just a fraction of second before his hands could grab her, she saw in his eyes the exact moment he figured out that she knew and that she was waiting for him to do that. She grabbed the front of his clothes when his body was starting to lose balance, turning him to her while she pushed his feet, making him trip, her body was carried with the weight of Jon’s when they fell.

She was straddling him, the knife she used for cutting Gendry’s face right on the artery of his neck. They were both panting, Jon’s eyes trained on her’s, blood running down from his nose, one hand keeping her hips away from his body and the other in her thigh, his chest heaving hardly under her body. The sight of him panting under her body, of his lips parted painted with blood, his grey eyes almost black in the dim light making her use all her self control not to kiss him right there.

“Sor Rodrik would be disappointed, you forgot the basics.” She said lowering herself until her mouth was almost touching Jon’s ears. The hand in her thigh moved to her hipbone pushing her slightly away from him but holding her firmly in his grip. “Know your foes.” She whispered in his ear turning her head and giving a kiss on Jon’s cheek laughing. She put the blade back on her belt and stood up, reaching out her hand to help him stand as well. Jon took her hand and she pulled him up using both hands like she used to do when they were childrens.

“You broke my nose!” He said irritated looking at the blood in his fingers. While they walked together to put the swords back in the armory.

“It’s not broken.” She stated looking at him annoyed. “I know the sound it make when I do it!” He scowled at her again.

Arya put her arm around his back walking side by side, soon she will have to leave him, she looked up and the stone dragons of the keep were watching them, reminding Arya of Dany and her children, the only chance they had against the dead. Jon put his arms over her shoulders stopping and bringing her close.   
“I’m sorry for this.” He said brushing his thumb in the corner of her mouth, his eyes never leaving her lips.

“For what? Giving me the honor of finally fighting me like you mean it?” She said in a mocking tone. “I won’t break Jon, I’m a wolf of Winterfell as much as you. I need you to believe in me like you did when you gave me Needle.” She said looking at him, he lifted his gaze at her, grey meeting grey.

“I believe in you, I’m just not ready to see you leave me again.” He said and the sadness in his voice was like daggers on Arya’s heart.“Swear to me, that you’ll come back to me safe.” He said still cupping her cheek lowering himself until his forehead was touching hers.

“I wish I could swear you that...” she said closing her eyes, controlling her breath. “But i can swear you this, if i fall, my assassin will have a hard time doing it, he will have a taste of winter before I go.” She said and felt Jon hold her tightly against his chest.  
“You are my new sparring partner until i leave.” She informed him.

“You’re not leaving tonight?” Jon asked uncertain.

“We will postpone it a bit.” She said and his embrace tightened again.

“Good.”he said. They went to their rooms in silence hand in hand. He hugged her and kissed her forehead, cleaning the blood he left there with his thumb, before they separate to open their respective chambers. She was unlocking her door when he asked “How did you knew?” And Arya knew he was referring to the fight. He was one to fight smart and be racional, but was always impulsive when he was pissed off, one just needed to know how to push him to it, and that took longer than she expected.

“Because, I know you, Jon Snow. And you, know nothing. Good night!” She said with a smile before entering her chambers and closing the door. She had forgot that her room was still scattered with clothes and the fire was almost gone...she let her shoulders drop in defeat while the back of her head bumped agains the door, she wasn’t going to have a rest any soon.


	10. Gendry

He couldn’t sleep the past night, not after seeing Arya fighting with Jon through one of the windows with Tormund by his side.

“You better steal her for yourself before she goes north.” The wildling told him after seeing Arya help Jon stand up.

“We don’t steal women here. And we’re not like this.” Gendry said irritated.

“So you are saying you went all that way up to the wall for that woman but you are not in love with her?” Tormund asked with his eyes squinted.

“I told you, we’re not like this, we’re friends, the last time I saw her she was a little girl.” gendry explained quickly.

“She may still be little, but she’s not a girl anymore.” Tormund said lifting one brow with a smirk. “Well, if she goes north and my Toregg saw her fighting, he’ll try to steal her on the same night!”

“She’ll kill him.” Gendry said looking at the big red head with a smirk. 

“Aye...She’ll probably do, but I know my boy, he will say that she is worth the risk.” The wildling said shrugging his shoulders. “Remind me of introduce him to her when we get there so he might have a chance to live.” He said patting gendry on the back and leaving him alone with his thoughts.

He didn’t want to admit it, cause the moment he admit to himself that he was in love with Arya Stark he will be doomed.

He didn’t knew since when his feelings started to change, the first time he paid notice to her, she was a scrawny boy, the smaller of the group, beating on a fat boy twice her size, until he shit himself, because he tried to stole her sword. After that all the boys were too scared of Arry to bother him, the little boy wasn’t one to talk and so was he, they were comfortable with each other’s silence. Arry sharpening his sword, while he would polish his helmet. They must have been a funny sight, the tallest and the shortest of the group. Arry has even shared with him a rabbit leg that he caught once.

After Yoren’s death, when they were all by themselves he figured out how much that little boy was tough. Seeing him ate bugs and worms not to starve, made Gendry feel like no matter what happened, that little one would survive it. 

He noticed that Arry was a girl, from the way Arya took care of the crying girl with a maternal manner she probably didn’t even noticed herself. When she was trying to untangle the girls hair or when she was carrying the girl, with her little legs cradled on her hip bones and singing some silly songs he didn’t knew. Weasel would follow her everywhere and sometimes Arya had to scold her and make Lommy or Hot Pie grab her by the little hands so she could go scout, leaving behind an annoying crying baby. 

Thinking back of that time he was ashamed to accept that he was kind of envy bout the little girl. He missed when he was little and his mother were still alive and would sing to him, before Master Mott, before the Night’s Watch.

So the boy he started to see as a friend became a girl, and then the girl turned out to be a highborn lady, and he couldn’t believe his eyes when the highborn lady came back, risking her life to try to set him free from the Lannisters. 

He used to distrust noble people, he never known no one, noble or not that cared that much about him. Gendry couldn’t decide if she was too brave or just too stupid, he felt grateful but what he felt most was guilty that they were all caught and that she had lost her sword, but one thing was clear in his mind, he would protect her secret no matter what.

Then they were captives, working for the Lannisters, he saw her from time to time, running for Weese’s services. He hated the man, Gendry heard that he liked to beat, and sometimes he killed the ones working for him, he never saw him beating her but one time he had seen her running with a bloodied mouth. She rarely came at the forges, and he didn’t knew if that was to avoid Weese’s wrath or to avoid him.

And then, the weasel soup. He was angry at her for sometime after that, there were people being beheaded for serving Lannisters like they have had any choice in the matter. There were women being raped beside the bear pit, and there were the fear every hour in the day that he’s head could be the next head on a spike somewhere.

Arya came to him in the middle of the night once, asking for swords to escape that place before Vargo Hoat started cutting out foots. He knew that was a suicidal plan, they could be killed even before they manage to pass the gates but they had escaped the Lannisters once, and die with a sword in hand seemed better than serve the goat with only one foot or so he hoped. When she, in cold blood, killed the guard, blood all over her sleeve and hand, he knew that she would never get back to be the same girl that left Kingslanding, the greatest part of her innocence was gone.

And then the highborn lady became the leader of the pack, sometimes he had to remind himself that she was just a girl of 10 and he was supposed to look after her and Hot Pie since he was the eldest. She never made that task easy, tough and stubborn little thing, giving orders all the time and going all by herself to try to mislead the bloddy mummers. He had to admit that she had a strategic mind since child.

The brotherhood found them, and then her secret wasn’t THEIR secret anymore, he missed not having a secret only both of them knew, but he thought it was good for her, act like herself again, not having to lie about who she was all the time. Hot Pie stayed at the inn and she started to be more talkative after that, and it was very smart of her not to talk about her identity with Hot Pie, he didn’t knew how to keep his mouth shut, for fuck sake. 

She liked to spar with him, sometimes he liked to tease her saying that it was useless to for her to train because once she was reunited with her family she would have to wear her little lady dresses, so she could dance and sing and marry a knight in shining armor. That always worked to piss her off, “That’s not me!” She used to shout on her screeching voice, she would hit him even harder after that and sometimes when she lost the fight, he would tickle her until her face was all red with tears running out the corners of her eyes, he liked the sound of her laughter even if he knew that it wasn’t really a happy one. Things got a little out of hand when she learned that he could be tickled too. 

At night when they were laid side by side with their backs on the ground she used to tell him stories, about queens and kings and dragons, knights and battles, about her home, her family and their wolfs, she said a lot about Jon and her father too, she told him about the dark pools of the Godswood on her home, about things her dance master said to her, and about what they could do once they get to Winterfell. After listening to her stories he was mesmerized by the idea of going to Winterfell with her.

At Acorn Hall was the first time he saw her in a dress. She came down the stairs with Lady Smallwood and only took one look at her expression and he was choking on his wine laughing so hard Harwin had to hit him to stop. Although finally looking like the little girl she was, she was looking as pleased as a cat after a bath, he knew that she was thinking he would tease her for her lady’s dress. 

Of course he thought of teasing her, but after watching her through supper a thought hit him, that all the things he been teasing her about will probably become true one day, seated there in her pretty green dress, she couldn’t be more different from the girl that used to spar with him. 

He tried to tell her she was pretty that night but she thought he was teasing her again and they destroyed that green dress wrestling on the smithy’s floor, and she was given another bath and another dress even more delicate than the previous one. 

He could see how hard Arya was trying not to ruin this one, and he stayed away from her until the next morning when she was given some breeches and clothes for riding but that song Tom was singing the night before was still stuck in his head, he couldn’t help but think she would probably look pretty in a gown of golden leaves too.

The second time he saw her in a dress was at the peach, when some girls took her upstairs to have another bath he had argued with Tom and the others that they shouldn’t have brought her there, but no one paid him any mind. “She don’t even know what a brothel is, lad.” Tom said to him, grabbing one girl by the waist and pulling her over his lap, and that was exactly what he told Arya when she confided to him that she suspected that place to be a brothel. 

The men of the brotherhood had all forgot about her after seeing the girls, he wanted to stay close to her so no one would bother her there but the girls won’t stop chasing him, no matter how many times he says no, another one would always come up.

He had left the brothel after that insistent girl start to run her hands on his arm and by the time he came back to sit on a corner behind Arya so he could keep an eye on her a old man was seated next to her. “Does my sweet peach has a name?” The man said to her and she had froze in place, he could see the panic start showing on her face, he felt like someone was squeezing his throat . He squeezed the man’s shoulder as hard as the hand he felt on his own neck. 

A peach... Gendry’s mind was taken to Winterfell, where Stannis spent his last days,after being severely wounded during the battle against the Boltons. He wouldn’t shut up about Renly and his peach. “The sweetest peach he ever tasted, my brother said to me, I wish I had enjoyed my life like my brothers did, wish I had fallen madly in love, wish I had spent more time appreciating the little things... life is short, Stannis, it sounded like a threat at that time, it was probably an advise, now I’m dying and I’ll never know the taste of my brother’s peach.” Stannis said to him once, it was a sad thing to see a man dying with so much regret inside of him.

He didn’t want to die like that. But he didn’t know exactly what he wanted, to be honest.

Maybe it was after they met Lord Beric that things started to feel different for him, he wasn’t Arya’s only friend anymore and she started to spend a lot of time talking with Edric Dayne.

Ugh... the perfect and polite little Lord of Starfall, with his blonde hair and purple eyes, he looked like he had come out of a song, Gendry didn’t like the kid from start, always stealing glances at Arya.

Edric would follow her like a puppy, would sit beside her after Thoros have made the fires and he would bring food for her, always filling her head with stories about sand steeds and pools and sunny places he would show her if she visits him at dorne one day. 

Of course he would like that, wouldn’t he? He was probably planning on ask for her hand to her mother when they got to Riverrun. And her mother would have probably accepted happily if what Arya told them about her mother was true, what kind of mother make her children feel unwanted because their hair and nails were dirty? The image of red tears over a soft and flabby skin came through his mind. Yes, that woman would probably do it.

Edric was clearly infatuated by Arya. She didn’t seemed to notice that, but she never even flinched when he called her my lady, even the way she talked to him was different, although she had threatened to punch Edric’s face some times. How he wished for her to fulfill those promises, but Edric was too scared of her threats to push her over. 

Was he jealous about them talking? Yes, he was, but that was because she was HIS friend before she became Edric’s friend. Edric was smitten about her beauty but he would never know how determined, tough, smart, cunning and caring she was, or even how annoying she could be when she stuck something in her head.

They were not talking as much as they used to, and of course it was his own fault, things were weird between them after he had shouted at her at the peach, he didn’t even knew why he did that, or why he told her that he would ring that girl’s bells. 

How could the memory of that time still make his chest tight and make him want to beat his own head against the wall? He was glad she had forgot that by now. She used to rub it in his face all the time. 

And then she was gone, and he started to have nightmares, at first they were about her, with the hound, she was shouting at him like she used to, and the hound would knock her to the ground with the back of his hand, he tried to get close to her, to help her, he tried to run, but it was as if something was holding him in place. The frustration, the rage he felt, so real he wanted to find Clegane and beat him bloody with his bare hands.

And after some years those grey eyed dreams started, some of them terrifying, some of them making him wake hard and aching for relief. Well, you can’t control dreams, and that means nothing, lots of people have grey eyes.

But the way he felt when he saw her again down there in the beach, he never felt that before, he thought he was dreaming at first, well...until she kicked him. And then after they have talked on Jon’s chambers she hugged him so tight that he finally felt whole. 

Arya started to come at the forje every day, normally after the training, she would enter the smithy all sweaty and disheveled, take her doublet off staying only with her tunic and sit cross-legged over the table close to him, and she would talk about some of the things she saw on her journeys, she was a great storyteller. How could that not become the best part of his day? 

He could be there just listening to her for hours, sometimes his mind would wander off and he would have to try to concentrate on what she was saying, like when he noticed the faint freckles over her nose bridge and cheeks that weren’t there when she was younger, or the way her eyes seemed like ice when the sunlight hit them in the right angle, or that little scar on her lower lip and he wondered about how did she get that, if it still hurt and if so how badly he wanted to kiss the pain away from them... shit. He was in love with Arya Stark.

That was bad, he never fell in love before, he was no green boy, he had shared a bed with some women before but he hasn’t been in love with them, it actually happened when he was drunk...and how bad he regretted being drunk when it happened, he could have fathered a bastard. 

What he should do now? She was his friend, and worse she was Jon’s little sister, and he remember vividly how he smashed Bolton bastard’s head with his bare hands and the bastard didn’t even really touched her. 

She would definitely stop talking to him if she somehow find out he was in love with her, she always hated this kind of stuff, does she still hate it? Does she ever fell in love with someone? Does she ever kissed someone? Oh fuck, just to think about someone kissing her made his blood boil.

Fuck Tormund! He was fine until that fucking wildling start to put things in his head. He was right though, Toregg would definitely try to steal her, and she was definitely worth the risk, but what if the risk for him was to lose her? He couldn’t stand that, but now he knew he couldn’t stand seeing her with another man either. 

he let out a grunt while kicking his leg out of the mattress, sitting up and rubbing the heel of his hands against his eyes, his head was hurting and it felt like he had sand inside his eyes.

She left her room so abruptly yesterday, and he know it was his fault again. How could him not figured out that he was in love with her earlier? Now she was thinking he had left some girl back there at Fleabottom, was she jealous about that? Was that why she got so pissed? It is probably stupid of him just wishing for that to be true.

She said that she would bring the face to him at the smithy, but how was he supposed to talk to her now? Could he pretend that he didn’t feel nothing for her? 

He couldn’t let her know, gods, Arya couldn’t know, she won’t help me with this if she did, she will vanish again and he will only see her again after another 8 years. I need to act normal, but what is normal now? how am I supposed to think straight if I didn’t even closed my eyes tonight? I’m gonna fuck things up! he thought panicking. 

he wanted to hide under his furs and forget what he just figured out but he put himself up anyway and put his clothes on, leaving his room hoping for breakfast on the great hall.

When he got there, he found the last person he wanted to talk right now. 

“You look like shit!” Tormund said to him when Gendry passed him. 

“Don’t talk to me.” Gendry tried to sound threatening but his voice came out only tired. 

“Hey.” The wildling said to him lifting both hands in surrender “What’s that for, huh?” he asked him. 

“It’s all your fault!” Gendry grunted taking a seat with his bowl of stew rubbing his eyes again. 

Tormund let out his loud laugh and Gendry wanted to choke him with his stew. “It’s not my fault that you fell in...” Tormund was starting to say when Jon came through the doors, he had bruises over his nose and under both eyes, Tormund let out another laugh ever louder than the previous one! “she really got you, didn’t she! And here I thought she was going easy on you without that sword!” he said laughing and patting his knees with his big hands. 

“You saw us?” jon asked with all the dignity he could gather after that. 

“Aye, we did!” Tormund said wiping the tears off the corner of his eyes, Gendry glared at him before looking at Jon. The bruises on his face reminding him the time Arya broke Lem’s nose all those years ago.

“We did.” he admitted. 

“Now our boy here is the only one who didn’t have his ass kicked by the Little Spearwife.” Tormund hitted hard on Gendry’s shoulder. 

“You’re wrong, he was the first one she hitted.” Jon said taking a seat. 

“that scratch doesn’t count” Tormund argued. “he never tried to fight her” 

“And if the result will be this, I probably never will.” Gendry said motioning at Jon’s face. “Where is she?” He asked Jon.

“She said she was going to the smithy, I thought you would already be there by now.” Jon said “you look like shit by the way. What happened to you?” 

I spent the night thinking about your little sister he thought, “Couldn’t sleep, nightmares again.” He said without look in Jon’s eyes, holding the bowl with both hands finishing his stew in three big gulps. He rose from the seat wipping his mouth with the back of his hands. “I’m going to the smithy.” 

Jon stood up with him, speaking with his authoritarian tone to the people gathered on the hall. “Lady Arya told me to warn you that from this day, no one are allowed to enter the smithy without asking her permission first. If she find out someone have been snooping around there she will take care of it personally.” the work of art she painted on her brother’s face illustrating perfectly what could happen then. 

He went to the smithy, the doors were closed, when he opened it his eyes met the grey eyes that been filling his dreams and nightmares. He knew it now, she was the peach that if he didn’t taste, he would die in regret.


	11. Arya

Arya went downstairs, but instead of going to the great hall she went into the kitchens and grabbed some pieces of bread and cheese before heading to the forge. She knew Gendry always get hungry when he was smithing.

After sparring with Jon the night before she was feeling much better, and while she tried to put all those clothes back in the old chest, she had time to think about how she had acted with Gendry, she knew Gendry owed her nothing, and she definitely couldn't be mad with him about the girls he met before her.

She decided that she would control these thoughts and the feelings they usualy brought out and not let them get in the way of their plans and most importantly, not let them get in the way of their friendship. She wouldn’t stand losing anyone dear for her just because she couldn’t control a stupid childhood crush...

She entered the smithy waiting to be welcomed by the smothering heat of the forge but the fire was out. On a normal day, Gendry would already be here getting ready to start his work, did he give up? Was all that faceless man thing too much for him? Is he afraid of me now and thinks I’m a monster? She tried to shove the worries that began to surface in her mind away putting her hands to work.

Arya had already started the fire when she heard steps outside the door of the smithy, she turned to look who was coming cause she had told Jon to warn everyone to stay away from the smithy for now on, when Gendry opened the door, their eyes met. He had dark circles under his eyes and had that pained look of when he was thinking too hard.

“Good morning, sunshine!” Arya said in a playful tone, leaning back on the table. “You’re late!” Gendry grunted something at her while crossed the smithy with his long strides.

“What happened to you?” She asked while watching him work on the fires with the bellows. 

“Nothing, I’m fine...” he said trying to contain a yawn. She stood up and walked to where he was standing, she put her hand on his arm and turned him to her.

“What you were doing last night? you obviously wasn’t sleeping.” She said looking at his red eyes. Was he with some woman? oh no, no, I can’t let my mind go down that path again. “Did anyone warned you that you look like shit?” 

“You’re the third person to inform me that, thank you very much. Do you even have a mirror?” He said lifting her chin delicately with his calloused fingers, his blue eyes trailing over her lips and her heart almost exploded from her chest with the sudden contact. “At least is not as bad as the bruises you gave your brother.” He said turning to the fires with his bellows again. She knew her face now had a bruise where Jon hit her last night but what she hoped is that for her face to not be as red as it felt.

“He is stubborn.” She said trying to make her voice sound leveled. “That wouldn’t happen if he just yielded when I disarmed him.” 

“Or if you had yielded when he disarmed you, knocked you down and grabbed your arms.” He said without looking at her.

“I never yield.” She said before realize what he had said. ”You were watching?” She asked feeling uncomfortable. 

“I did... sorry, it was quite a sight though, Tormund is feeling realized!” he said chuckling.

“he’s probably grateful that now I have another sparring partner, he must be tired of getting his ass whooped.” she said with a smirk, watching gendry unlace his doublet. The movement of his fingers pulling the strings lazily was making her mind go to places she didn’t want it to and she realized she was biting her lip again. Damn it! But how can someone look at him undressing slowly like that and not start having ideas?

“Tormund’s warrior pride will be wounded if you left him for Jon.” Gendry said in a playful tone, hanging his doublet on the wall.

“I can still beat him after I have finished my brother. Actually, I’ve been thinking on start to training with more than one opponent at once while we still here.” She said and he looked at her, concern and understanding on his blue eyes.

“Does Jon knows what we are going to do?” He asked her with his brows slightly furrowed.

“No...and it will be for the best if he stays this way. But i think it will not take much for him to figure it out.” She replied.

“So... this is our secret for now?” He said with a hint of a smile.

“Yes, I hope you are still good on keeping them.” She said smiling at him too. she took the face she had hidden inside of her doublet. “No one can know about the faces. So today while you smith with it on I need you to think about his story, you’ll need a name, a place where he lived, family, you know, his life before you get to fleabottom, something you can memorize and say it naturally if someone asks, right?”

“All right.” Gendry said but she could feel he was a little uncertain about that.

“How much do you trust your former master? Was you planning to come to him as yourself?” Arya asked.

“I’m not sure yet... he is not a common blacksmith that is always in need of people to work, his is more like an artist, he is not one to waste his time with people without talent and he sold me to the Night’s Watch...” He said concerned.

“I remember that bullhead helmet you made, that wasn’t the work of a untalented blacksmith.” She said honestly. “But I haven’t seen you making anything out of steel since I came back, you should make something to show him how talented you are. And I’m sure he will be proud of how much you improved if he learn who you are.” She said in a reassuring tone. 

“All right.” He said looking at her briefly before turning back to stare at the fires.

“You took the making of the weapons as your responsibility but I know you, you’re a fighter, and I know you won’t be hiding when the battle start, so I think you should start training too... I want you to be prepared when the time comes .” She said looking at him.

“All right.” He said without hesitation, looking at her with that incredible blue eyes.

“All right.” She said looking away from his eyes and taking a seat on her favorite table putting the man’s face over the surface. Something in the way he kept saying that tugging at the back of her mind. “I think the sooner we start the better. Maybe you can smith till midday and then we can spar together on the afternoon.” She said taking a bite on the cheese she brought and offering it to Gendry but he just shook his head. She crossed her legs sitting further on top of the table taking another bite.

“All right.” He replied again and that was the last straw.

“Stop that!” She said irritated.

“Stop what?” He replied, looking at her confused.

“All right, all right, all right. You keep agreeing with everything I say.” She said putting the cheese she been eating on top of the table too. “You’re acting like Ned, and it’s annoying, so stop it, now.” She said at him and his eyes squinted.

“I’m not like that stupid little lordling.” He replied between his teeth.

“Then stop acting like him, you are either mocking me, afraid of me, or hiding something from me.” She said looking at his eyes and he avoided her stare.

“You are hiding something from me, aren’t you? What is it?” She said coming down of the table at once and standing in front of him. “Spit it out!” She said pinching him on the soft skin of his waist over his tunic.

“Ow! Stop it!” He said trying to hold her hand but she wiggled it free.

“What is it?” She demanded pinching him on the other side. He turned 360 in a attempt to avoid her fingers.

“Stop it!” He said recoiled with his arms covering his sides and hands spread forward trying to protect himself. “I’m not hiding anything.”

“Liar...” she said crossing her arms in front of her. “All right, keep your stupid secrets. But I’m not telling you anymore of mine too.” She said lifting her chin defiantly.

“What are you complaining about? You were the one who came up with the ‘you have to do as I say’ thing.” He said irritated.

“And I’m already regretting have agreed in helping you. You know I didn’t meant it like that.” She replied with annoyance. “Let’s go on with it.” She said turning to the table and picking the face up. When she turned to him he was looking at her pouting. She snorted . “Don’t be such a baby.” Arya said annoyed. “Do you have a blade to do it?” She asked.

“I do, but... can you do it for me?” He asked sheepishly.

“You’ll have to do it by yourself eventually, you know?” She said but couldn’t help think he was kind of cute when he was asking for her help. 

“I know...” he said still pouting.

“All right, Sit down.” She instructed him rolling her eyes and he took a seat on the table but it didn’t help much cause he was still taller than her. She looked at him annoyed.

“It’s not my fault that you’re still as tall as a 10 year old.” He said with a smirk

“And you are incredibly stupid to insult me when I am about to cut your face, Maybe I should give you a pretty scar to remind you this every time you look in a mirror.”

“Your god likes me. He won’t let the cut become a scar.” He said smugly.

“Maybe he likes me more.” She said putting the face on the table and getting on top of it, standing on her knees at his side, he adjusted himself to face her putting both hands on her hips to keep her in place. His hands were so big and warm, her heart started racing again. “What are you doing?” She asked her voice sounding more alarmed than she expected.

“You never know, for someone as small as you a fall from this height could mean certain death.” He said shrugging and his eyes still had that playful glim.

She punched his arm. “You’ll face certain death if you keep calling me small, not everyone is abnormally as big as you.” She had just finished speaking when he pushed her slightly to the side making her lose her balance, she gasped, but before she could do anything, his other hand were already steading her body while he was laughing at her. 

“You stupid bastard!” She shouted punching him wherever her hands could reach. He tried his best to protect himself still laughing at her, his back flat on the table, both arms protecting his face and knees lifted and she knew that it was to protect his cock from her fists. She saw an opening and punched his stomach, the air came out from his lungs and he started coughing between his laugh.

“You should have seen your face.” He said after recover his breath, still laughing while rubbing his stomach.

“I don’t know why I still try to help you.” She said climbing down from the table but he stoped her, holding her arm.

“I promise I’ll behave now...” he said and she looked at him suspiciously. “Please?” He said and she sighed. 

“Just this time... the next time you’ll do it yourself.” She said sternly and he nodded. She climbed the table again and took the blade from her belt, his face was serious now. “Stay still.” She warned him and started to slide the blade over his skin, the blood came running down his face again, she didn’t like to see the blood of people she liked being spilled like that. “All right, put it on.” She said climbing down again. He did it and there was no more blue eyes staring at her. 

“Did you have to cut yourself to put them on?” Gendry asked her. 

“Not anymore.” She replied.

“Why not?” He inquired her

“I’m not telling you anymore of my secrets until you tell me what is the thing you’re hiding from me.” She replied with a brow arched.

“I’m not hiding anything.” He said defensively.

“Yes, you are.” She said defiantly. “If you don’t trust me with your secrets, Why should I trust you with mine?” She said looking away from him. 

“Arya... you know that I trust you.” He said trying to reach for her but she stepped away. 

“To help you... yes. But you are clearly keeping something from me. Don’t try to lie to me Gendry, I can smell a lie from afar.” She said cleaning her blade and putting it back on her belt. “Please don’t forget to take the face off if you gonna leave the forge, and don’t forget to think about his background story.” She said walking to the door.

“You’re not staying?” He asked and his voice sounded disappointed.

“No, I have better things to do than watch you beating the steel with your hammer.” She said, but she knew that that was a lie, she always liked seeing him forging things, the concentration he put on it, the rhythm of the hammer, the strength of his arms. But she really had things to do, “Don’t worry, I’ll come back when it’s time to kick your ass at the training yard, let’s see if you’ll still mock me about my size then.” She said leaving him alone on the smithy.

Arya went back inside the keep, it was time to talk Tyrion about what they should do now that the iron throne wasn’t the priority anymore.

She found Tyrion on the library, where he have spent the biggest part of his days since they came back, 

“Tyrion? May I have a word with you?” She approached him slowly.

“Of course my dear.” He said lowering the book his been reading. 

“How are you going to sent the message for Dany?” She asked bluntly.

“I wasn’t expecting us to send for her before the throne was conquered, we came back barely a sennight ago... I don’t think I have means to send a message from here.” He replied to her honestly.

“But you heard them, there are White Walkers and Others gathering an army beyond the wall... we need her to win this! We won’t stand a chance without her...” she said taking a seat across him.

“You have to do your best to bring her home as fast as you can.” He said in a practical tone

“I can do it faster if you let me kill your sister.” She said annoyed. “You know the common folk don’t care for who’s ass is seated on the throne.” 

“The common folk may not, but the greatest houses certainly do.” He reminded her.

“I hate this game...” she said tiredly

“I know, and that’s why I am here with you. She will need the support of other houses or the war will never stop.” He said to her

“What could be better to her claim than to come here to save everyone’s asses?” She asked frustrated.

“I know it’s the perfect occasion, but we still have the problem of insufficient ships to bring all the unsullied, the dothraki and the second sons with her.” He explained at her.

“You know I respect the dothraki... they are fearless warriors and everything, but... I don’t think she should bring the khalasar here... leave them to keep her peace at Mereen with the second sons and bring only the unsullied, you know how 300 of them won agains the dothraki at Qohor. I think 8,000 of Them are enough to help her here.” She stated looking at him and she saw in his eyes that he understood what she was talking about.

“I won’t like to see any rapes happening under Daenerys banners either, but do you think she will leave more than half of her power behind?” He asked her. 

“She have three dragons, for fuck sake, the sea travel will be hard on the khalasar and they won’t come if they don’t bring their horses which will require even more ships to do it, and food and water for the men and the animals. If she doesn’t leave them, then she will never come.” She said frustrated “you have to send for her now Tyrion. Or will be no westeros for her and for us.” 

“The long night was won without dragons.” He stated shrugging his shoulders.

“Sure, because who gonna think enormous beasts with leather wings that breathe fire to be a good addition to the event, right?” She said ironically and he laughed.

“I think they certainly would... but I’m really stuck here, I can’t send a message to Essos from this island can I?” He said in that tone that make her feel like a child again.

“Then come with me to Kingslanding, we go there, I do my thing and you do yours.” She said irritated.

“Assuming that I will still have my head over my shoulders after I put my foot in that land again, I suppose there’s not many dwarfs with mismatched eyes, crooked legs, a big scar on the face and missing a nose.” He said pointing the place his nose should have been. “We need to get allies, and I need you to get information of what’s happening inside that keep, information about what my sister is doing, who are her enemies and how many of her allies are susceptive to be corrupted. We need to isolate her and make her feel trapped.” He stated.

“This is not about the throne anymore Tyrion, this is a war of the living agains the dead. We should all gather forces to defeat them together.” Arya said frustrated. 

“Sometimes when you talk like this you remind me how young and naive you are.” She glared at him but he just gave her a sad smile. “Don’t get me wrong my dear, but the world are not made of people honorable like your lord father, and sadly this will always be about the throne... you have to do what is expected of you. Gather information for us to win this and put the right person in it” he said in a comforting tone.

She sighed defeated. 

“Can i ask you something?” He said to her with his curious eyes.

“You can, but it doesn’t mean that i will answer it.” She said stubbornly 

“How did you met the new lord of Storm’s End?” He asked leaning back on his chair.

“Why you wanna know that?” She asked suspiciously.

“I like to know who I’m working with.” He said shrugging.

“When Yoren found me, the day my father was beheaded...well, he took me with the other recruits of the night’s watch, and Gendry was one of them, his master sold him to the Watch.” She said looking at his eyes trying to find why he was so interested in her friend.

“And why his master sold him?” He inquired.

“Why don’t you ask him yourself?” She said irritated.

“Maybe I should...do you trust him?” He asked.

“You said one question, with this one you already made three, but yes, I wouldn’t bring him with me if I didn’t.” She said defiantly.

“Hope you doesn’t get each other in trouble.” He said with a smile.

“What do you mean?” She said squinting her eyes.

“You’re both young, wich means you’re both full of life and energy, but have little caution, try not to get the last Baratheon killed.” He said looking at her, she looked back at him suspiciously.

“Don’t even think of using him for your game.” She said between her teeth.

“He’s already a piece in it, and so are you, you like it or not.” He said with a sad smile.

“I don’t like it, and I’m not a lady to be sold to obtain allegiance from the house you see best fit, and if you try to use him in your schemes without his consent we will have a problem between us.” She said getting up and leaving Tyrion alone with his books again.


	12. Gendry

Gendry was finishing his supper at the great hall when the imp walked in, carrying a flask of wine in one hand and a cup half empty he’d be already drinking.

Gendry was caught by surprise when his wobbling steps stopped right beside him.

“May I join you?” The Lannister asked politely. Gendry wasn’t looking forward for that kind of company now but shrugged and the dwarf put the flask and cup over the table before climb onto the bench.

“You don’t talk much did you?” Tyrion said to him.

“No.” Gendry replied curtly 

“I’ve been looking forward for a moment to talk to you before you leave.” He said unaffected by Gendry’s tone. 

“What do you want?” Gendry asked suspiciously.

“I was wondering about how did you escaped the purge of Robert Baratheon’s bastards... after you father’s death my sweet sister ordered the massacre of your half siblings, did you knew that?” The imp asked him and he just shook his head. “I heard that your master sold you to the night’s watch just before that , I suspect the person who helped you, was the same that helped me scape from my sister’s hands.” 

“So?” Gendry asked grumpy 

“Well, you have to decide for yourself of course, but maybe, just maybe you can trust your former master more than you know.” He said looking at him with that uncomfortable mismatched eyes.

“Why are you telling me this?” Gendry inquired

“I have a soft spot for bastards and broken things.” He said sipping his wine. “Besides, we need the weapons, and any help must be considered don’t you think?” 

“I’ll think about it. Who was this person that helped you?” Gendry asked still furrowing his brows “The common folk used to call him the Spider” Tyrion replied and Gendry was feeling more confused by the minute. 

“You really look like you father, I liked him, we had the same hobbies, you see?” He said lifting his cup. “You look like your uncle Renly too, that one had a easy smile. But internally you remind me your uncle Stannis.” 

“Bitter?” Gendry asked sipping on his ale.

“I was going to say dutiful, but that word fit well too.” The imp said with a smile. 

“What do you really want with me?” Gendry asked lowering his mug and staring at the Lannister.

“You’re in love with her.” It wasn’t a question, Gendry glared at him. “Anyone with eyes can see this.” Tyrion stated shrugging . Gendry cheeks started feeling hot.

“Does she...”

“Oh no... I don’t believe she knows it yet. She doesn’t seem to be one to think as herself as desirable, she can’t see how beautiful she is... I grew very fond of the girl, she is a rare soul that will look at you and see a person, despite you being a king, a bastard, a whore, an assassin or even a dwarf... I wanted to make sure you’re not like your father... She had enough grief in her life already, I would hate to see her being used and have her heart hurt.” Tyrion said looking straight in his eyes, Gendry hold the stare.

“I’m not like that piece of shit, I may have his blood, but he was not my father.” Gendry replied between his teeth.

“No, you’re not. You’re a bastard that, much like her, doesn’t see yourself worthy of being loved.” Tyrion said 

“You know nothing about me.” Gendry stated irritated

“I know a lot about unworthy people to say that you’re both wrong.” He said “Before we came here I thought something inside that girl to be broken, the only one she showed any emotions was another broken girl...” 

“She didn't left anyone waiting for her there?”Gendry asked before he could hold it back.

“If by anyone you mean a man... well... I never saw her show interest in anyone, but she killed one dothraki that tried to have his way with her, his braid is attached to the spear she left there.” Tyrion replied with an amused tone.

Gendry’s emotions were coming all together in a storm, rage that someone tried to rape her, relief to know that she killed the savage and that she didn’t had a lover waiting for her back there, but that didn’t serve to easy his worries, what would she say if he tell her what he feels for her? Will she stick Needle through his guts if he kiss her? 

“You’re thinking so hard you might hurt your brain.” Tyrion said bringing him back from his thoughts. “Is it about the dothraki she killed or it was about the fact that you don’t know how to tell her? You look more like Stannis than I thought... have you ever been with a woman?” The imp asked in a playful tone.

“That’s none of your business.” Gendry replied bitterly.

“My guess is that you already had... but I think you never fell in love before, and that’s what scares you.” Tyrion said pouring more wine on his now empty glass. How can someone so small drink so much? And how can he keep saying things like he could read his mind? “She’s very protective about you, she threatened me just the other day saying that if I use you in one of my schemes without your consent I would have problems with her.” He said with both brows lifted.

“What schemes?” Gendry asked with suspicion.

“Marriage.” Tyrion said 

“No.” Gendry said emphatic 

“Not even with the princess of the North?” The little man said said with an skeptic look. Gendry was caught by surprise on that, he couldn’t find any words “I think I would not have problems with your consent if it comes to this, am I wrong?” Tyrion said sipping his wine with a brow lifted and a smirk.

“Did you told her about that?” 

“Not yet...so, what do you think about this arrangement?” Tyrion asked him, he never thought about marriage, who would want to marry a bastard anyway. But if he has to choose a wife, someone to spend his life with, he cannot think of anyone else than Arya, but did she ever want a marriage? Will she accept him? Could she ever learn to love him? 

“Did she ever considered marriage?”

“Well... I think what she told me about it was that she was not a lady for me to sell her to earn the loyalty of the house I see best fit... but she never told me anything against marrying her to her best friend.” Tyrion said shrugging his shoulders.

“I’m not going to agree with anything if she’s not willing to do so.” Gendry said lowering his gaze to his mug.

“I think you could make her accept it.” 

“Oh really? Have you ever seen her do anything beyond what she wants?” Gendry said irritated.

“Then make her want it.” Tyrion replied like it was the simplest thing in the world.

Gendry sighed. His hand went to his temple massaging the headache that begun to emerge there. “You don’t understand, the last time I saw her, before she arrived with you down there on the beach, she hated anything related of lady’s duties, of love, of marriage, I even used it to make her mad when she pissed me off, and she had been alone surviving since she was two and ten, I don’t have idea if she ever had time to overcome her...issues... about it.” Gendry didn’t even knew why he was losing his time to explain that to the Lannister.

“I see... Maybe I can help you figuring that out.” Tyrion said 

“You’re not telling her anything about what we talked here.” Gendry said between his teeth glaring at the imp.

“Our is the fury, indeed.” Tyrion said with a smile. “I’ll not dare to say anything, i’ll not need to.” He said tilting his big head to the door, Gendry looked and saw Arya walking through it, their eyes met for a moment before she look at the imp and he saw her eyes narrowing a little. She came walking straight to where they were sitting.

“Is he bothering you?” She asked him.

“No, i’m not.” Tyrion replied for him. “We were actually playing a game, why don’t you join us? The blacksmith is not very good at it, I want a little challenge.” He said animated.

“I hate your games.” Arya said with disdain.

“That’s not true, you don’t hate cyvasse.” 

“You didn’t invented cyvasse, if you had, the rules would change with each match and everyone would end up vomiting on the floor.” She said crossing her arms.

“I don’t get your point.” Tyrion said with an innocent expression and Arya sighed. “Please join us.” He said pleading. Gendry felt a foot kicking his knee under the table and the imp was looking at him tilting his head almost imperceptibly towards her. Gendry looked at her confused and uncertain.

“Uhn...Please? I don’t think I got this game yet...” he said and she looked at him suspiciously but took a mug wiped the rim and seated beside him filling it with ale. She looked inside his nearly empty mug and sighed again.

“How long you’ve been playing it?” She asked him but turned to Tyrion “We are not like you, you know? We have other things to do than to be drunk all day. He need to be up in the morning.” She said chastising the dwarf.

“That’s his first cup.” Tyrion said almost like defending himself and Gendry was not understanding shit about their exchanges.

“Just one cup and we’re done.” She said pouring ale on his mug too. And the Lannister followed her example filling his cup as well.

“I’ll start it.” Tyrion said straightening himself on the bench looking really amused.

“Of course you’ll start it.” Arya said with zero amusement in her voice. Tyrion looked at her squinting his eyes looking like he was trying to read her mind.

“You... have never being kissed.” Tyrion said and Gendry looked at him incredulous. 

“Of all the things you can assume of my savage self you go for this?” Arya replied with brow lifted. “You getting boring, old man, drink!” Gendry was definitely lost. What the hell was going on here? 

“I’m just warming up.” Tyrion said taking a big gulp of his wine. “You...”

“You lost, why you’re asking again? It’s my turn.” Arya said irritated.

“No, it’s not.” Tyrion said dismissively “You were kissed... but you were not in love with the man.” And Arya frowned. She were kissed? By who? When?? How??? 

“You’re sticking with this subject aren’t you? You gonna regret it.” She said before take a big gulp of her ale. 

“You...” The imp started again.

“No! Shut up, it’s my turn!” Arya cut him off again, and the imp chuckled, she looked at him for a moment. “You... didn’t kissed a girl until you were seven and ten.”

“Drink!” The imp said cheerfully.

“Fuck!” Arya cursed and took another gulp of her ale. “All right, your first kiss was with a lowborn.” She said and looked triumphant when the imp took a big gulp of his, he was starting to understand the game. She was looking like she had thought about something to state about the imp again.

“Wait.” Tyrion said to her “it’s his turn now.” he said motioning at him and Gendry looked at him alarmed. “You, state something abou her.” Tyrion instructed him, but he had no idea how to start, she had been kissed but wasn’t in love with the man... he wanted to ask so many things, but he knew if he went too far she would recoil and lock herself... he decided to go by her example.

“You were not kissed until you were six and ten?” He said uncertain.

“Drink.”she said with a smirk. And he took a gulp from his ale, how old were she then? “My turn, you had been kissed before you joined the night’s watch.” She said and he could feel her gaze hot on his skin when he drank from his cup again.   
“And... she was older than you.” She added and he look at her surprised before take another gulp of his ale. How did she knew that?

“My turn now.” Tyrion said looking at Arya.   
“You had never fell in love before.” Arya lifted her cup but stopped before drinking from it, brows slightly furrowed considering something. “Drink.” She told the imp and he looked at her suspiciously.

“No lying, this is a sacred game.” Tyrion stated.

“Drink!” She said irritated and Tyrion did so, chuckling again. So, she had falling in love before, Gendry felt something start to boiling within him, who was this man? was he aware that she loved him? Did he broke her heart? 

“You took personal pleasure when you put two arrows on your father’s guts.” She told Tyrion, and the imp looked at her surprised.

“You changed the subject very abruptly, didn’t you?” He told her. 

“You loved her...” Arya said in a sad tone, And Tyrion lowered his gaze to his cup before emptying it in one last gulp.

She lifted from her seat beside him and put a hand on Tyrion’s shoulder with a sad look, Tyrion squeezed her hand with his own, a sad smile on his face. “You better go to sleep before he got you retching on your own lap and hating yourself.” She said looking at him and he only nodded. “Good night.” She told them.

“Good night, my dear.” Tyrion said 

“Good night.” Gendry said already missing her presence beside him. When she left the hall Tyrion looked back at him.

“So, that was enlightening, wasn’t it?” Tyrion asked him pouring more wine for himself.

“Kind of...” Gendry managed to say, “but still don’t make things easier.”

“Do you think it’s easy for me to be juggling things with all the new information I got since I came here? Our first plan was to come here, make alliances with my sister’s enemies, make alliances with the north and dethrone her to put Daenerys on it, now the north has a new king, the northern lords say they won’t bend their knees and the last king of the seven kingdoms have a legitimate heir. “ Tyrion sighed.

“Daenerys is a good woman, with the right name, the right claim, and the right heart, but she is also unstable like only a Targaryen can be and still a woman, and in this world we live in a cock means a lot more than it probably should...”Tyrion looked at him. “I’m worried about you and maybe the easiest way to appease her is to marry you to Arya Stark, even if the union make your claim over the throne even more appealing to some lords of westeros, I have reasons to believe that for the love she bore for the girl, she would not dare to kill someone close to Arya.” 

“If she is this unstable why put her on the throne? Is just like putting a crown on another Mad King.” Gendry said alarmed.

“She could be a good queen, she want to make things right, she want to change things for the small folk, she just needs guidance. She suffered too much, she was exiled before she had even been born because of your father and mine. But you have a point there, Greatness or Madness... some people used to say that when a Targaryen is born the gods flip a coin. Sometimes I feel like her coin is still in the air and even then she still better suited for that throne than my sister.” Tyrion said looking tired.

“I can feel you’re being honest with me so I will be honest with you too, just by having this talk about arranged marriage behind Arya’s back would be enough to make her hate me forever, I am in love with her, but I will not marry her for convenience or to save my ass from Daenerys madness, if she ever come to accept me and marry me will be because she wants it as much as I do. Thank you for being so thoughtful about my wellbeing Lord Tyrion, but I must decline your offer.” Gendry said lifting from his seat. “And... I’ll be glad if what we talked here stay just between us.” Gendry said looking at the little man seated on the bench, Tyrion Lannister only nodded, and Gendry left heading to his chambers, thinking about all the things he learned about Arya.


	13. Jon

The bruises he got on the first night he fought with Arya was almost healed, getting in faint tones of yellows and greens, a fading reminding of how skilled his little sister had become.

She was left handed, and so, something that would work for a fight with someone right handed not always worked with her, she was skinny and incredibly quick when fighting with her Needle, making hard to strike her, when she was moving like she was dancing around and making him feel stupid at every blow she dodged.

Every time he thought about that first night it was like he could still feel her on top of him, he had to control himself when she straddled him, fighting with her made him feel alive, like he hadn’t felt since he was beyond the wall, the way she fought him, so fiercely, had made his cock shamefully hard and the image of her panting on top of him made him want to rip her clothes and have her right there in the middle of the yard.

They fought together every night after that, and every night he felt glad that his breeches were sturdy and his doublet long enough to cover his hardness, something in the act of fighting with her made him extremely aroused, and the shame of that would come hitting him hard as soon as he stood alone in his chambers at night. 

Things calmed a bit after they started training with Tormund, taking turns of two agains one, the difference between their fighting made him feel challenged like he haven’t felt in a long time, and even after she had proven time and again, that he didn’t need to, he couldn’t help the protectiveness that always took over his mind when they both fought Arya.

But when he fought with Arya against Tormund he felt really connected to her, it was like when they finished sentences together, he just knew where she was going to strike, how she was going to move, and he could tell she felt the same, they were a part of each other, it made him feel whole, like there, fighting alongside her, was the place he needed to be, the place he was meant to be. 

And it just made him more frustrated knowing that in a few days she will be gone. He tried to change her mind so many times but she was stubborn like a mule. He knew he was being selfish for wanting her not to leave his side, but he just couldn’t help it. She was the only thing he had and she was going willingly towards the danger, even knowing the things their family suffered every time a Stark stepped on the Red Keep.

He skipped their training today, he been trying to be rational but with each day that passes it becomes harder for him not to think that she’s about to leave him, and he hates the way she looked sorrowful every time she caught him thinking that, because of course, she could always say when he was thinking about that.

He heard them practicing on the yard from his favorite brooding place, he did felt stupid, like a scared boy hiding from the truth, laid down on the back of the biggest of the dragons over the keep, but when he had too much on his head he liked to climb up there and just be alone with his thoughts. 

“I’ve missed you on the yard today, I had to ask some of the free folk to fight with Tormund against me and Isegg, Arell and Groval where the only ones who agreed, but they keep flinching all the time.” 

Jon’s heart almost stopped, He snapped his head up at the sound of Arya’s voice, she was perched over the dragon’s legs and her chin was resting over her hands on the dragon’s back right beside him. how did she found him here? and why haven’t he heard she comming?

“Is there space for two in your dragon?” She asked motioning to him for scooch over and make room for her too.

“For two? Where’s your other half?” He teased her but moved to the side so she could climb on the dragon, she made a face at him before climbing to seat at his side. 

“I’ve never climbed on a dragon before.” She said thoughtful. 

“I thought you were friends with the mother of dragons.” He said playfully.

“She’s mother of dragons, not of horses, only a real dragon can ride them, and Dany is the only dragon left...” Arya said in a sad tone. “Drogon is the biggest one and the one that actually obey her...Rhaegal and Viserion are usually chained because... well... they are wild... but listen to her well enough when they are being good kids...This one here is even bigger than Drogon, maybe Dany’s dragons are not fully grown yet, just moody young dragons.” She said after adjusting herself, leaning her back on the dragon’s neck, Jon noticed she was barefoot.

“A real dragon?” Jon asked “what that even mean?” 

“It means that she cannot be burnt, well... her hair burns, but not her body... That’s how she hatched her children, she entered his husband funeral pyre with her dragons eggs.” Arya explained to him.

“Did anyone ever tried to mount them?” 

“Quentin Martell... they say he told about having some Targaryen blood, but the dragons...they didn’t seem to care about it and burned him alive...” they stayed there in silence for a while. He remembered how it was to have his sword hand burned, he flexed it instinctively, death by fire seems extremely painful.

“Well, I’m not a real dragon but I will always have a place for you in this one.” He said turning to her propped on his elbow, supporting his head on his left hand and motioning at the big dragon of stone they were on top of. “Where’s your boots, little sister?” He asked her, pulling her toes playfully. She chuckled shaking her feet to avoid his fingers.

“Right there.” She said pointing to the dragon’s foot. 

“Aren’t you cold?” 

“A little bit... but i like to walk barefoot...” she said smiling at him.

Jon pulled his cloak and covered her feet and she moved closer to him. “here” she said tapping on her lap and he laid his head on her lap, his body spread alongside her and his right hand came instinctively over her legs, like he used to do when they were little. She was the only one he ever felt that comfortable with, the only one to ever care about him.

He felt she pull of the leather string he had tying his hair and hummed in contentment when her fingers traced his scalp loosing his hair. She started massaging his scalp and he closed his eyes lost in the sensation of her fingers.

“Why did you skipped the training today?” She asked him but he couldn’t even open his eyes to look at her expression.

“Wasn’t in the mood today.” He said shrugging.

“Humm... can I know why?” she said still passing her finger through his hair taking the tension of his scalp away with every stroke.

“You know why...” he said in a low voice

“I have to do it... To bring Daenerys here, with her moody children, to help on the war agains the Others.” She said softly massaging his ear. “It will be easier for me to do it if I knew you’re not angry with me because of my decision...” her voice was almost pleading.

“I’m not angry with you... I just... I’m scared...” he said hugging her tightly, he felt her hugging him back.

“I’m scared too...” she admitted. “But you know what I’m doing to keep me from drowning on it?” She asked after a moment, caressing his head again.

“What?” He looked up at her face 

“I’m thinking that when we won the war, we can finally go home together. And I know I can do anything for that to happen.” She said and her eyes were full of hope. 

“I’d like that.” He said looking at her. Home... he wanted that, to go home with her, they will be a pack again.

“Can I ask you something?” She said bringing him from his reverie and he nodded “Will you ever make me marry someone because of my position?”

“Never!” He said more harshly than he intended, lifting himself on his elbow. She looked at him with her big grey eyes clearly taken aback for his demeanor.

“Good.” She said bringing his head over her lap again. “Because I won’t marry anyone.”

“Who would take half a bride anyway?” He said trying to lighten the conversation with a jest. She grabbed a handful of his hair and pulled firmly making his head tilt back, forcing him to meet her eyes, he winced with the pain and his heart started to hammer on his chest sending his blood south, her eyes were dark. “See? Half woman, half wolf...” he said smiling at her, she let go of his hair and slapped his forehead playfully. He took her hand on his, bringing it back to his hair and she laughed. “Can you keep doing that? I haven’t felt this relaxed in ages... it feels like I could almost sleep.” 

“Having trouble to sleep?”

“I haven’t slept since the red priestess brought me back...” he confessed to her.  
She didn’t replied to that, but started to run her fingers lazily through his hair again, singing softly, and he recognized a song he used to sing to her when she was little and refused to go to sleep. That definitely helped calm the discomfort that started to grow on his breaches earlier but made him feel even more guilty of his thoughts.

He didn’t know how long they stayed there, with her hands running through his hair, the scent of her impregnating his senses bringing him back to Winterfell. He felt her giggle and he opened one eye, her hands rushed on his hair and he caught her hand on his again following her fingers until he felt his hair intertwined. What the fuck?

“What‘s this?” He said touching his hair. “You braided my hair?” He said turning to face her. 

“You’re a big warrior! The world needs to know it” she said chuckling. Gods, he loved to see her that playful. He couldn’t help but grin like a idiot and out of a sudden he lifted himself on his knees and messed her hair with both hands making a wild nest out of her head. 

She laughed heartedly and he found himself doing exactly the same. As their laughter died out he caught himself staring the most desirable mouth he had ever seen. He cleared his throat turning his eyes away from her lips.

“It will get dark soon, we should get back inside the keep... and cover those feet before you get a cold.” He said passing over her and climbing down of the stone dragon and handing Arya her boots. 

He waited until she had put them on and turned his back at her with both arms stretched back, and her face lightened again jumping on his back, chuckling. He walked them back, sitting her on the windowsill they would have to climb in to enter the castle. 

They walked their way down the stairs, heading to the kitchens since Arya had complained about being ravenous when Tormund found them.

“There you are, Little crow! Been looking for you for a while now. Where you’d been hiding?”

“I wasn’t hiding.” Jon said trying to sound annoyed and not guilty of been doing exactly that. “I was discussing some issues with my sister.”

Tormund looked at them for a moment with a quirked brow. “Sure. And it already show some improvement. You look pretty, maybe I should go and steal you for myself tonight.” He said looking at his head, and Arya snorted beside him. 

Jon remembered that he hadn’t unbraided his hair yet and grunted annoyed running his fingers through it, while Tormund sighed and Arya laughed. He tied his hair back and messed Arya’s hair again making her laugh once more.

They accompanied Arya to the kitchens before Tormund drag him to check on the Dragonglass, bringing his attention back to reality, to the things he tried to forget while he and Arya were on top of the dragon that afternoon.

XxxxxxxX

He haven’t seen her on supper, but that wasn’t a surprise. She used to take her meals with whomever she was at the moment, sometimes with the girls on the kitchens, sometimes with the free folk around a fire outside or with some of the black brothers on the great hall. Arya did not liked to have a routine, and often let her actions be as free as her spirit. 

He came from the bathhouse to paid his customary visit to her chambers before going to his own, just to find her room empty, he tried not to dwell on where or with who she may be that late on the night, he knew that she would come to him to say good night before going to sleep.

What he didn’t anticipated was that she would show up in his chambers in a white nightgown, with a damp hair and cradling one big pillow, she looked at him, seated by the window. Her eyes went to his boots, up to his leather trousers and up to his tunic before find his eyes, cock her head and sigh.

“You’re not even trying to sleep anymore, are you?” She asked walking towards his bed and placing both pillows side by side. He forced his mind to stop thinking on the implications of that.

“There’s really no point in doing so. What is all of this about?” He asked 

“What does it look like? stupid? I’m putting you to sleep.” She said turning to seat by the hearth.

“You don’t have to do this, it’s probably useless.” He said 

“Bullshit! You were definitely dozing off this afternoon...” she said with a smirk. “You can’t fight against the power of this magic hands.” She said in playful tone lifting her hands in front of her body like they were some sacred artifacts.

“Besides, I thought that we could make each other company, I happen to have my own problems to sleep as well... if you don’t mind, of course.” She was biting her lip and he could hear the hesitation in her voice. Of course she must have problems to sleep after all the things she went through. 

“Of course you can stay.” He said. “This reminds me of when you used to crawl up to my bed at night, afraid of the thunders.” He gave her a smile and she smiled back at him, her hands messing her hair in front of the fire in a attempt to dry it faster. He liked her hair like that, wild like her soul. He got up and took a towel to give to her.

“I was there to reassure you and keep you from wetting your bed.” She said with a smirk.

“Of course you were.” He scoffed before throwing the towel over her head, she laughed and lifted the corner of the towel, peeking from under it, but he was already kneeling in front of her, pulling the towel over her face again, making her chuckle before start to rub the towel on her damp hair with both hands like he had done a hundred times when they were younger.

He took the towel away looking at the mess he made of her hair, she blowed a strand of hair, that had fallen over her nose, off of her face, just for it to come down exactly at the same place. He chuckled and run his finger trough her hair until it was away from her face. 

“Time for bed.” She said clapping her hands once and starting to stand up but he pulled her back down. 

“Not so fast, you stay close to that fire until is completely dry or you’ll catch a cold.” He said while bringing himself up. 

“Yes, faaather.” She said mockingly running her fingers on her almost dry hair. He went back to sit by the window looking down at the rhythmic oscillation of the waves, he wished life was as simple as the certainty of the tides, the changing of the seasons, but nothing else in his mind seemed right at that moment. Not even her, The only thing keeping him grounded and the very thing making him almost go insane.

He heard Arya approach him silently, he could smell the scent of soap that came from her body. “Soon will be full moon... it could be the perfect time to approach Kingslanding without a torch to drag attention to us...” Jon felt like a hand had squeezed his heart. 

“Three days until you leave me...” he said without looking at her.

“You’re seeing it from the wrong perspective, three days until I start helping you win this war.” She replied taking a seat in front of him, she lowered her head towards him shaking her hair. “Is this enough for me to share your bed, Your Grace?” She asked, but even with her playful tone, his mouth went dry with her question. He couldn’t even bring himself to answer it.

“Don’t call me that.” He said instead.

“My apologies, does Your Highness suit you better?” She said and he glared at her for making fun of him when she knew fully well that he hated the post they had given him. She kept his gaze for a second and cracked up in a chuckle and it was enough for make him smile too “Your Majesty perhaps?” She kept teasing him. 

“Stop it.” He told her annoyed, standing up and turning his back at her. 

“My King.” Her voice was lower when she said it and hold his hand keeping him from going away from her. His heart pounded hard in his chest and he didn’t knew if it was from the way she said it or for the sudden contact with her hand. He looked at her and there was something in her eyes that made him want to drown in them. 

“Come to bed.” She said calmly still holding him by the hand and then she lowered her gaze to his lower half and he prayed silently for his blood not go down there right now. “But take these off first.” She said firmly.

“Why?” His mind wasn’t functioning anymore, his voice caught in his throat, hoarse, but if Arya noticed, she didn’t show.

“You might have forgot how to do these things, but as someone who slept on the road for years, I know that leather trousers and boots are highly uncomfortable for sleeping.” She said quirking an eyebrow. “Change.” She commanded.

“Oh... right! Yes.. uhn..can you..?” Jon motioned for her to turn around.

“Yes...Sure... sorry!” She said embarrassed turning around and walking towards the bed, she started to climb it and Jon couldn’t stop himself from notice when her nightgown slide up showing a pair of very firm thighs. 

He turned his body away from that sight cursing himself. Trying to focus on find something amidst his belongings more suitable for sleep, hoping that that would help erase that image that seemed to been branded on the back of his eyes.

He found a pair of light linen trousers and prayed that he wouldn’t embarrass himself getting a hard on in front of his little sister on that thing. He took off his boots and leather trousers before sliding inside the light garment. 

He took a couple of deep breaths trying to calm his nerves and his mind, he could do this, he could control himself. 

He turned to the bed and saw her lying there, facing the wall, the curves of her hips more evident for the way her nightgown had been clinging onto her frame. Jon walked around the room blowing off the candles before taking the last one.

He walked to the bed and placed the candle over the nightstand, she looked at his linen trousers with a smug look. “Much better, don’t you think?”

“Hum... scooch over!” He said shaking his hands towards the wall.

“Uhn... no? I have picked my side, thank you very much.” She said defiantly.

“This is my bed!” Jon said indignant.

“And that makes me a guest, it’s guest’s right! Have you no curtesy?” She answered crossing her arms in front of her. He looked at her for a second before lowering himself to push her to the wall side.

Arya was quick though, probably sensing the threat to her chosen side of the bed, she turned her belly down grabbing the headboard with one hand and the bed frame with the other. 

“Noooo!!” She yelled. Jon pushed her legs but she hold on to the bed in a vice-like grip. Strong stubborn little thing. But he wasn’t going to give up just yet, he tickled her right under her spread arms but nothing happened. 

“That doesn’t work anymore, are you that desperate? That move was low! You should be ashamed!” She said looking at him still holding onto the headboard. “I can’t sleep if I don’t have a clean view of the door...” she said pouting and Jon sighed.

“Fine!” He said rolling his eyes. She smiled brightly turning her body to seat properly with her back leaning on the headboard, her knees pulled up to her chest so he could climb on the bed beside her. 

He adjusted himself on top of the furs and she looked at him confused. 

“If I get under the furs with you, you’ll be shivering and no one’ll get a wink of sleep.” Jon said and she shrugged.

“If you say so...” she said lying beside him under the furs. “Come here” she said opening her right arm so he could place his head on her chest. Jon hesitated.  
“Stop fighting it, you’re acting like a toddler, sleeping is good, maybe it will get this brooding look off from your face.” She said tauntingly.

“I’m not broody.” Jon said but rested his head over her shoulder. 

“Of course you’re not...” Arya said in a mocking reassuring tone patting him on the head like he was a baby. Jon glared at her and she chucled. “There’s nothing to be ashamed of, Sanira and the other girls on the kitchen think you look very good when you’re brooding.” She said teasing him.

“Gods... I’m never going down to that kitchen again.” He said and Arya laughed again. 

“Afraid of some girls?” She said mockingly

“I much rather walk into the battlefield than face girls whispering and gossiping about me.” 

“You can’t blame them... you are young, a excellent warrior, good looking and a not betrothed king... I mean... it’s just natural that they talk, and frankly, men gossip waaay much than women. Specially the free folk.” She said with a smirk. 

“What did they told you?” Jon asked feeling uncomfortable that people were talking about him. 

“All sorts of things...” she said untying his hair and running her fingers through it. “They talked about Val, and the Red Woman, and how almost all women at Castle Black were willing to let the dark and brooding Lord Commander get under their skirts...” Arya said emphasizing the dark and brooding part. Jon rolled his eyes and felt Arya shaking beneath him chuckling again.

“They say the red woman brought you back to life because she couldn’t stand losing the best lover she’d ever had.” She added serious.

“Wha..? “That’s not true!” Jon said looking at her and found her eyes full of mischief.

“What a pity, it was a very romantic story.” She said with a smirk.

“There’s nothing romantic about that woman, believe me. She freaks me out.” He replied irritated looking away from her eyes.

“In a good way?” She replied and even without looking at her, Jon could almost see her eyebrows wiggling by the teasing tone she was using.

“Gods!” He growled. “Can you blow that candle off so we could try to get some sleep? I thought you were here to give me some peace of mind.” He said without looking at her and she laughed.

“So now you want to sleep, huh?” She teased, Jon felt her stretch to the opposite side and then the only light in the room was from the fire of the hearth. She settled back on the pillow and Jon felt a light kiss on his forehead. “Good night, Jon.” She said softly.

“Good night, little sister.” He replied hugging her lightly over the furs. Her hand still caressing his head and it immersed on her scent and her warmth the sleep soon claimed him. 

XxxxxxxX

He was at Winterfell, outside of the gate, Tormund was there, and Gendry, he looked at his left and Sam was there too, looking scared at something behind the trees. 

He knew what was coming in their direction. His sword hand went to his belt but Longclaw wasn’t there. Panic took over him, Gendry came by his side and dragged him by the arm. 

“We have to go back.” Gendry shouted. And he nodded. He looked around searching for Sam and Tormund but they weren’t there anymore. 

He run towards the castle with Gendry by his side. Jon heard the heavy gates being shut as soon as they crossed it, but then he heard someone screaming. He saw a woman pointing at something, he looked up following the woman’s gaze and saw fire coming out from one of the windows of the castle, big flames licking the stone leaving black marks on it. 

His heart stopped, those were Arya’s chambers, Where’s Arya? He looked around searching for her but she wasn’t there, he started to call her name but she wasn’t anywhere. He run into the castle shouting for her, run as fast as he could but his legs was heavy, he forced himself jump up the stairs three steps a time until he got to her chambers. He opened the door and for his horror she was there surrounded by the fire. 

Her whole body was on flames but she was calm, she looked beautiful, while her clothes were being consumed by the fire, she extended a hand to him and he grabbed it trying to pull her out of the burning room but she didn’t move. 

For his horror, he saw the fire start to climb on his arm, but it didn’t burned him either, only his clothes were burning and turning in ashes falling to the ground. He looked back at his little sister and she was still burning completely naked in front of him, still holding onto his burned sword hand, and gods... she was gorgeous.

She walked towards him, her gaze never leaving his and he didn’t even needed to look down to know that he was totally bare too. She stopped in front of him and traced the scar above his heart lightly with her fingers, following it with her lips right after. 

He sighed at the contact of her lips on his chest, she lifted her eyes at him, her hand went to his neck and her lips crashed on his with passion, he kissed her back, with the same passion and desire. Her hand grabbed his hair and he growled turning their body’s and pressing her against the open door, she leaned against the door, lips never parting , her elbows over his shoulders and lifting her legs to wrap them on his waist 

“Fuck me, Jon.” She whispered in his ear.

He woke up abruptly, panting alone in his bed. His cock still twitching against the mess that was now on his trousers. The high of his orgasm being washed away like a bucket of ice by the guilt and shame.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I start writing this fic i never thought so many people would read it and I just wanna thank all the beautiful souls who left kudos and comments here! 
> 
> I didn’t knew how it felt until I write something but Kudos and comments really make a person’s day! 
> 
> Gendrya is the ship of my life!! And Jon and Arya the siblings i love the most but for this plot to work Jonrya will have to happen. 
> 
> Through some really well written fics, I learned to like Jonrya too, yes, I’m that flexible and I regret nothing. But I’ve found out that it is reeeally hard for me to write it... so this may be a long ride... but if the gods are good I’ll be capable of finishing it.
> 
> corrections about my grammar will always be very welcome, so I can always be learning more.


	14. Arya

Arya had been caught, she didn’t knew by whom, but it was probably the White Cloaks, they tied her arms alongside her body and she had some kind of cloth tied between her teeth to muffle her voice too, they thrown her on a damp, dark place she could only imagine was the black cells. She didn’t remember what happened or how they discovered her, but now she was laid on her side, in the dark, trying to figure out a way to get the fuck out of that situation. 

She heard the clinking of keys against the wooden doors, and the hinges creaking. She could sense something approaching her but she could hear no footsteps. 

Suddenly she felt her body being lifted in the air, her feet failed for an instant before she could stand, an arm held her around the waist and a hand held her by the throat. She felt something hard pressing against her arse. She could feel the man’s breath in her ear. 

“How long did you think you could hide?” She recognized the kindly man’s voice. 

She tried to free herself from his grip, but with her arms tied she could only shake herself to no avail. Her eyes started to sting, she had failed, she had failed with Dany, with Gendry and she had failed with Jon. Jon...they were supposed to go home together...

“So pretty, it’s a shame I didn’t had the chance to have you...and now you know what I have to do, right? He said in her ear and she could feel his warm breath.   
She started to wiggle desperately trying to free herself from his grip. “Shhh... don’t fight... it will be over in a second I promise you, Valar morghulis.” , the grip in her throat loosened just a second before the blade pierce her heart.

She opened her eyes panting, she was kind of used to those nightmares by now, but when she realized she could still feel the grip in her middle she almost screamed.

She recognized Jon’s chambers and the memory of the previous night started to come back to her mind. It was all right, it was just Jon, keeping her close to him.

And then she tried to turn herself back just a little to look over her shoulder to see his face and she felt something hard against her buttocks. Her breath caught in her throat and she instinctively pushed her pelvis forward.

Her heart was racing and her breath got ragged, she cursed herself while trying to get her body functions steady.

Stop being stupid, you’ve been a man before, this is just his body keeping him from pissing himself, she told herself. No one had prepared her for that when she used the face of a man for the first time and woke up with a hard on. It took her a while until she could figure out how to take a piss bending the damn thing down.

She turned to look at him keeping her lower half as far as she could, he was deep in his sleep. She couldn’t help but blush a little thinking that she had that handsome man sleeping next to her with his arm over her belly keeping her warm.. warm? he did was kind of warm now...maybe sleeping really did good to him, she thought.

She rolled slowly, placing her hand on his waist and pushing him gently, he rolled to the other side mumbling something softly and she hold her breath. She caressed his hair and soon his breath was deep and even again. 

Arya got up from the bed slowly trying to not disturb him anymore. He deserved to sleep until he felt that that was enough. She went to the door and took a last look at him before heading out.

Her room was cold like a tomb. The ghost of Jon’s hardness pressing against her arse still lingering in her mind and she groaned. You do not dare to touch yourself thinking about it, She thought, but her hand was already lifting the hem of her nightgown. 

She got under the furs of her bed and started to circling the little nub above her entrance with her middle finger. It felt so good...and that made her feel so bad. She closed her eyes sliding her finger on her now slickly wet cunt bringing it back up to circle the little bundle of nerves again.

What was she doing? She had avoided doing that till now, three days... three days and she would have be gone and this feelings would disappear. What is wrong with me?

The image of him panting, bloody, under her body appeared in her mind, she wanted to taste his mouth, taste his blood, fuck, she wanted to kiss him so bad. She slid one finger inside of her cunt and her back arched with pleasure, she throw her head back while sliding another finger inside her, curling them inside of her, moving it back and forth slowly.

She thought about his arms and the scent of him all around her, she thought about his cock, hard against her body and the pace of her fingers sped up, it felt so good it didn’t take long until her thighs got rigid and her cunt clenched around her fingers in spasms, she came undone panting. 

She slid her fingers out of her cunt and looked at them, all slick with her arousal. I’m fucking disgusting...she thought, letting her head fall back on the mattress staring at the headboard.

XxxxxxxX

She took her breakfast at the kitchens, she would have avoided everyone and everything if she could, really, but she knew Gendry was waiting for the face. She finished her meal, and took some cheese and smoked meat before leaving to the forges. 

She entered the smithy and the heat that welcomed her was pleasant instead of suffocating. He was seated in one of the benches with his back facing her. 

“Who are you?” She asked putting the cheese and meat over a table by the door, he didn’t even lifted his head to answer.

“Carsen Rivers.” He said his voice hold no emotion but when he lifted his gaze at her, he had and smug smirk on his face.

“You shouldn’t be that smug only for knowing your own name.” She said rolling her eyes and walking to stand beside of him. “I see you finished your chisels.” She said cheerfully running her fingers over Gendry’s meticulously aligned new tools. 

“Yep. Ready to start engraving now.” He said looking sternly at her, realigning them carefully. She rolled her eyes again. She took one of the knives Gendry had made and had been laid over the table waiting to be carved and started to play with it. She liked the balance and the weight of it in her hands. 

“You said they are ready to engrave but they still have no edge.” She said still twirling the knife between her fingers.

“Show off...” he said snorting. “The edge is the last part.” 

“The edge is the best part.” She said taking the knife back hand and holding it to his throat.

“Can you please stop threatening me with the blades I made?” He said with a quirked brow.

“This is not a threat.” She said rolling the knife in her hand smoothly and lifting his chin with the point. “This is threat. The previous one was a clear attempt of murder.”

“I would be glad if you could spare me from both.” He said annoyed. 

“So sensitive...” she said tauntingly and it was his turn to roll his eyes at her. “Any chance that you’ll be ready till the full moon?” She asked still playing with the blade.

“Full moon? It will be like what? A sennight from now?” He said frowning.

“Actually... I was hoping to dock at Kingslanding on the full moon...so counting that if everything went fine, we are going to spend like 3 days on the sea... we have 3 days to get ready, Can you make it?”

“Maybe...if I stop training so I can really focus in this...”

“You need to practice...” she scolded him putting the blade over the table.

“I need time to do it. Is this or at least another sennight.” He shrugged. Arya sighed defeated, leaning against the table in both elbows, she started to rotate the blade idly, the point of the blade against her finger turning it without really looking at it. She wanted him to be prepared for the battle and she knew that he wouldn’t have time once they land on Kingslanding, and he started to work on his former master’s forge, but she really needed to leave this place after what she had done this morning. She hated how selfish she was.

“Go on.” Gendry said breaking the silence.

“What?” She asked confused.

“You know you still want to argue, I can almost hear your thoughts from here.” He said looking at her. “You’re too slow. You can barely block an attack on your right leg. The wights are going to tear you apart.” He said in a squeaky girly tone cocking his head each side with every sentence.

“You’re ridiculous, I don’t speak like that.” She said with a brow lifted, making sure her head was very still. “And that’s not what I was thinking... I was thinking that this is a good knife you’ve made, I like the balance of it.” She told him, well she really liked the balance of this knife so it’s not a complete lie.

“Liar.” He said to her getting back to scratch on a parchment.

“It’s not a lie, I mean it.” She said looking at him annoyed to have been called out on her lie.

“Well, thanks then, but I know that’s not what you were thinking... what’s the matter?” He said looking at her briefly by the corner of his eyes before look down again.

“Nothing...” She said 

“You were almost biting your lip off, what happened?” He said looking straight at her now.

“I’m restless, that’s all, everybody’s restless, we’re preparing for a war...” she said and he looked at her unconvinced. She let herself sit on the bench beside him, her forehead falling on the table with a muffled thump. They sit there silently for a moment.

“I’m feeling useless, powerless...I’m feeling...wrong and damaged...it’s gnawing me here.” She said lifting her hand like a claw in front of her chest. 

“You’re not useless... you’re a warrior.” Gendry said in a gentle tone. “You’re training us, and you’re good at it, a bit harsh, but still...” he said in a playful tone. Arya snorted.

“You still messing up, so I guess I’m not even harsh enough.” She said without looking at him.

“Gods, guess I choose the right time to stop training then.” He said and she punched him sideways on his stomach, and Gendry chuckled.

“Can I stay here today?” She asked still not looking at him.

“Sure...” he said “Not in the mood of making bearded men cry today?” Arya smiled.

“It was just once, and I apologized to him... I didn’t meant to really hit his balls... he moved forward on the last second.” She said defensive. She could hear that he started scratching on the parchment again. She looked at it and saw the drawing of a goat. “A goat?” She asked knitting her brows confused. 

“Master Mott is Qohorik.” Gendry said shrugging. “He’ll like this one.” 

She stayed there looking while he transferred the pattern to one of the blades and retraced them carefully until the design was clear on the steel. 

Arya had never seen him working on something so small, she was mesmerized by his hands, big and strong, she loved to see him making things. She actually envied his hands, they could create things, while she felt like her’s were meant only for destruction.

He was holding the chisel steady while he would hit lightly with a little hammer, the chisel seemed to slide easily on the steel with each hit, leaving behind it a groove shining like molten silver.

It was particularly satisfying when he managed to carve a specially long stripe of steel, they would instinctively look at each other and smile.

When there were too many steel scraps in the way he would put his lips together and blow gently. And when his lips got a little dry he would lick them making something inside of her belly flip briefly.

When Arya was little, she only classified men in two categories, the strong ones and the weak ones, Gendry was, for obvious reasons, one of the strong ones.

When she grew up a bit she started to notice beyond that. There was the plain looking ones and some unfortunate looking ones, there were rustic looking ones and some that were pretty, like a girl. 

She decided that Gendry was a pretty, manly looking kind, with his strong jaw and eyebrows, he had long and dark eyelashes framing those beautiful blue eyes that were staring with so much concentration on what his hands were doing.

“Do I have something on my face?” Gendry asked and she schooled her face not to demonstrate being so startled for being caught ogling him.

“Actually, yes.” She lied.

“Where?” He asked and she tapped with her index finger on her chin and he promptly brushed his hand over his own . “Did it came off?” He asked jutting his chin at her and she nodded suppressing her urge to laugh. 

“Gods... This kind of delicate work kills me. I feel like I’ve been in this position for hours.” Gendry said stretching himself, and she noticed the moment when his tunic rose showing his lower belly cut like a v, leading her eyes to a path of dark hair that started below his navel and disappeared into his trousers.

She looked away before he caught her staring again, her face starting to feel hot and her mouth a bit dry. “That’s because you’ve been.” She said hoarsely standing up and walking towards the door. She cleared her throat before speaking again. “It’s probably time for lunch, you should eat something.” She said grabbing the cheese and tossing it at him. He caught it easily.

“My savior.” He said bowing to her and she kicked him on her way back carrying the smoked meat and the wine skin he always brought with him and kept on a nail by the door. 

She sat back, and took a sip of the wine before passing it to him. “You’re not eating?” He asked before take a bite on the meat. 

“Nah.. I’m fine.” She said knowing that she hadn’t brought enough for their appetite combined. She would eat something later on the kitchen. 

“Bullshit! You’re always hungry.” He said passing her the meat. She took a bite and gave it back to him. “I don’t know where all the food you eat goes.” 

“It enters my body and turns into pure rage.” She said with a smirk. 

“That actually explains a lot.” He said with a smile.

She stood up again and started to look around, there was a table with all sorts of failed dragonglass weapon attempts. she stepped onto something that made a shattering sound and found out that although gendry kept his tools well organized, he didn’t seemed to have had much time to keep the floor of the forge clean. 

she remembered had seen a broom somewhere... she went into the small chamber where gendry always put the bellows after using it and there it was, forgotten and unused behind the door. 

she came back with the broom and a dustpan and started to sweep the floor. there was a lot of dragonglass on the floor around that table and she wondered how much of that had been thrown there in sheer frustration.

“You don’t have to do this.” Gendry said with a strange look on his face.

“I know that.” She replied turning her attention back to the glass scattered around.

“I have no doubt I can lose a hand if anyone see that I let the princess sweep the smithy’s floor.” He said and she rolled her eyes. 

She hunched to pick the glass on the dustpan and the tip of the broom hit something behind her, dropping a small pile of parchments on the floor. 

“Sorry!” She said turning to pick them up.  
A neat handwriting making almost impossible not to be read on one parchment caught her attention and although her own handwriting was horrific she was very good at reading.

Dear Gendry.

I’m relieved to learn that you are well and unharmed.

“ARYA, DON’T!” Gendry shouted at her, appearing at her side in a heartbeat yanking the parchments off of her hands roughly before she could even pic all them up. She froze for a second. 

And then the truth hit her, she spent the whole morning like a stupid girl thinking they were still the same, but he was no longer Gendry the blacksmith's apprentice boy, her friend and confidant, he was Lord Gendry. 

She haven’t really thought about it till now. But he was the lord paramount of the south, the northern lords have probably tried to shove their daughters on him. By the delicate and beautiful handwriting she had glimpsed she was almost certain that it had been written by a woman.

And it wasn’t addressed to Lord Gendry... it was just Gendry like someone that was intimate with him... he probably had some beautiful and gentle lady waiting for him somewhere.

Gods... she didn’t even knew he knew his letters... he definitely didn’t knew them when they were children.

She knew she was being stupid, she should be happy for him, and she didn’t knew why it hurt this bad, but it does and she wanted to run from that forge. But she was no longer a girl and she would not embarrass herself acting like one now.

“I’m sorry...I didn’t meant to pry or anything...” she said turning her eyes away from him and heading to the small room to put the broom away. “I think I should go now...” she said still not trusting herself to look at him.

“Arya... I didn’t meant to yell at you...” he said and she could tell he was walking towards her. 

“It’s fine.” She said finally looking at him with all the naturalness that her years in the house of black and white had taught her “It’s about time for me to stop bothering you anyway.” She said with a dismissive smile opening the door of the smithy.

She heard him saying something but she was already closing the door behind her and didn’t catch it. She crossed the yard without really looking at anyone, she thought have heard Tormund calling her but she ignored and kept walking fast, passing the gates and kept like that until she reached the beach. 

Only then she let herself run away from the castle as fast as she could on the soft sand. She ran until she could no longer hear anything but the sound of the waves.   
She started to walk then, her heart pounding hard in her chest. 

She didn’t thought that the feelings she had for him was still that strong... she had been in love with him before she even knew what that meant. But she had been certain that she could keep it down now... apparently she was wrong and in her heart of hearts she had been secretly hoping that he would someday look at her as woman.

Of course that would not happen... he probably looked at her and could only see the dirty, smelly little boy he traveled long ago. Or in the best scenario his friend’s little sister.

Why he never told her? Was that the thing she always felt he was hiding from her? Why he didn’t trust her with that? Did he knew what she felt for him? Was he scared of telling her about his betrothed not to break his friend’s little sister’s heart? Gods...She wanted to dig a hole in the sand and hide there for at least a hounded years...

She missed Dany so much now. 

Dany would sit with her, and Arya would snuggle her head over Dany’s chest listening the steady beat of her heart and Dany would ran her fingers through her hair. She would be able to tell Dany everything she could not tell her brother, and her friend would hug her tightly, she wouldn’t feel so alone then.

She scoffed bitterly, Dany would probably tell her that the feelings she has for Jon were not immoral or disgusting. 

She felt like when she was trying to become no one. Uncertain of who she was, and of her place in the world. She walked until she found a place with some retorted pine trees.

Arya sat there for a while, her back leaning against one of the trunks, she looked down and she noticed a little bump in her doublet, she forgot to give the face to Gendry...it’s better this way, Arya thought, so now she didn’t have to go there to take it back and look at his stupid face again. 

She didn’t wanted to go back to the castle and deal with anyone yet.

The scent of the pines mixed with the sea, although new to her, was strangely comforting, a mix of the Wolfwood’s pines and the sea of Essos. Much like her, a mixture of the Arya she once was and the Arya she’d become growing up on her journey. 

She took a deep breath letting those scents fill her with memories, the sound of the waves soothing her like a lullaby. 

She was a Wolf of Winterfell, but she was so much more now, she had fought countless times and survived. She was so trustworthy that a Queen sent her to take back the throne from a usurper bitch. 

She was the night wolf! And she had a mission, and that’s what she was going to focus on. She didn’t needed boys... Gendry could pretty well carve those knifes with his own face from now on. She will take him to Kingslanding with her but that’s it. She didn’t needed him or his pity.

But Jon... she couldn’t just ignore him, nor she wanted to. She wanted to spend as much time as she could with her brother before she left, she knew it would be hard to keep her feelings on check even before she decided to share his bed. She knew it was a risky decision for her, but she couldn’t deny him some comfort and rest if she could provide him so. 

She would act as normal as she could with him, and hope for Kingslanding to break the spell that been haunting her.

Damn... Dany was the always horny one, not her... she thought pressing the heel of her palms against her eyes.

“Three days.” She said to herself while standing up. She brushed the sand off of her trousers with her hands and started to walk back to the castle with a sigh.


	15. Gendry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No, I didn't give up on this fic, I still think about it and see the scenes in my mind every day, but I haven't had time to write. but I intend to write it to the end. bear with me.

Gendry was seated at the great hall eating his soup, actually he has been stirring it occasionally with his spoon more than really eating anything, he hasn’t talked to Arya since the day he yelled at her at the smithy.

He really didn’t meant to shout, but when he saw her crouched with the drawings he was secretly meaning to engrave on a knife for her, he panicked. 

At first he though that he had hurt her feelings, she had looked at him scared with those beautiful grey eyes and he wanted to kick himself, and then she seemed to be avoiding to look at him at all.

But when he told Arya that he didn’t meant to yell at her and she did looked at him, she seemed calm and he thought that despite the feeling in his gut, maybe they were okay, and that she really just had to do something elsewhere.

He didn’t saw her that night, like, nowhere, and he pushed his worries aside waiting to talk to her in the morning, but she didn’t came to the smithy the whole day, he saw her in the great hall at night when he went for supper, but before he could reach her she walked out without give him a glance.

She didn’t came to the smithy today neither, and this is their last night in Dragonstone, and he don’t have idea of what to do about this. Tomorrow they were supposed to head for Kingslanding, but how they gonna do it if she can’t even stand to be in the same place as him? 

He brought the blade he made for her in case he could find her somewhere... he had a lot of time to engrave it since he could hardly sleep after she started ignoring him. It was a wolf’s head howling on one side, and winter roses on the other, he spent a lot of time adding details and engraving the background in tiny snowflakes in his sleepless hours.

He wanted to apologize to her and tell her he only didn’t let her see the drawings because it was a surprise, and he only made it a surprise because he knew how curious and impatiently annoying she could be. 

He didn’t make it in a intention to woo her or anything, well, if he said that he didn’t wanted her to have something from him so she wouldn’t forget him it would be a lie. But since he met her all those years ago she always had to hide who she was, he really wanted her to have something that reminded her of home. 

But now, every time he thought about the look in her face on that brief second before she look away from him he wanted to scream at himself for being so stupid. He wanted to make something to comfort her and all he managed to do was to make her hate him.

The hour was already late, there wasn’t that much people on the great hall, some of the free folk were drinking, talking loudly on the further back of the room, Tormund was seated by his side drinking his ale, and tormenting him.

“I wasn’t going to say it again, but in case you forgot, you need to steal her for yourself, lad!” He said after a moment looking at his direction.

“Fuck off...” Gendry replied too tired to even look at the wildling.

“That’s what I’m talking about!” Tormund said and Gendry could bet he had that infuriating smirk under his thick red beard, Gendry glared at the man and Tormund motioned at the door with a tilt of his head and wiggled his eyebrows.

Gendry lifted his gaze to the door and saw her standing there with a stern look. She sighed and started to walk in their direction. He panicked for a second, what was he supposed to say to her? He wanted to apologize, he wanted to give her his gift but didn’t wanted to do either of it in front of Tormund. He lowered his eyes, staring at his soup.

She took a seat, across him. “Why you are so grumpy?” She asked with a little annoyance in her voice.

“I’m not grumpy...” he replied bitterly still looking at his soup.

“What the lad need is a good fuck!”   
Tormund said with a laugh that sounded more like a bark lifting from his seat and slapped him in the shoulder so hard that he was thrown a little over the table.  
Gendry glared at him deadly over his shoulder.

“Thank the gods you’re taking your man with you tomorrow.” Tormund said looking at Arya with both brows lifted. “I don’t think I can stand another day of this.” And motioned with his huge hand at all of him. Gendry grunted and brought his gaze back to his almost untouched supper.

“He’s not my man.” She stated matter of factly, taking the cup the wildling left empty on the table and putting some ale for herself. And after a little silence she added. “Can you please go fuck yourself?”He heard the man laugh and start to walk towards the door.

An awkward silence fell between them.

“Missing the brothel in Mole’s Town already?” She asked before take a long sip of her ale. 

“What? I... I’ve never...” he said snapping his eyes at her a little dazed. He wanted to kill that stupid red haired fucker!

“Hum...You’re loyal to the Princess of the Riverlands?” Arya said with malice. 

“What do you mean?” Gendry asked with squinted eyes.

“You don’t remember Princess Bella?That’s not nice of you.” Arya said in a mocking tone.

“Who the fuck is Princess Bella?” He replied furrowing his brows.

“I’m named Bella, bet I could ring your bells too.” she said with a mocking girly voice that sounded nothing like herself.

“Why you call her princess Bella?” He said turning his eyes back to his cold soup his cheeks starting to feel hot. He thought she had forgotten the damn bells thing.

“She said that her father was King Rob...” and then she stopped like something had clicked in...”Seven hells... you fucked your sister??”

“What? No I didn’t...” he replied but she cut him off.

“You fucked your sister...” she said looking shocked.

“I’ve never went after her!” He started to explain himself.

“So, why did you said that?” She asked tilting her head.

“That was the first thing that came to my mind to help me get rid of you, because you were annoying me then, like you are doing now.” He said drinking his ale to avoid her eyes, he had asked himself that same damn question countless times. 

“Liar!” She said lifting a brow at him drinking her ale too.

“What??” He said outraged.

“You are lying because you realized that she was your sister. That’s ok.... i’m not judging, you didn’t knew it, besides I’m kinda used to the thought now... Dany..” 

“I didn’t do it!! And what do you mean you’re kinda used to the thought??” He cut her.

“As i was saying...” She looked at him irritated. “Dany always thought she was going to marry Viserys, Aegon married his sisters, Joffrey and his siblings are Cersei and Jaime’s children...”he waved his hand at her cutting her off 

”Anyway... I didn’t do it, I don’t like whores.” He said irritated.

“Humm...” she said taking another sip.

“What now?? Gods...You’re such a pain in the ass when you want to.” He said scowling at her.

“You like boys then...? Was Satin your lover? You guys seem to get along pretty well...Does your dislike of whores only applies to women?” she asked looking at his reactions.

“No! what are you talking about?? He’s not my lover... I don’t like boys and why the hell you know he was a whore?” He replied bewildered.

“We talked.” She said simply.

“About he been a whore?” He asked incredulously.

“We talked a lot...” she shrugged drinking some more. “he has a lovely voice you know? He sang to me...”

“He sang to you?” His voice was a tone higher now.

“He did! Why? Is that a crime?” She replied irritated. “It was nice to hear someone singing again, he even knew some songs the courtesans used to sing in essos.”.

“Why do you know what they sing in essos?” Gendry asked confused.

“Guess I’ve been in more brothels than you...” she said shrugging again.

“Why you were in a brothel?”he asked alarmed.

“What? Your brotherhood were the first to brought me to a brothel remember?” She said defensive.

The old man voice echoed in his mind  
“What kind of brother are you? I’d never bring no sister of mine to the Peach, that I wouldn’t.”

“What was..”at this point he has already lost control and now was nearly shouting.

“Shhhhh!!” She cut him off looking behind her back to see if someone were eavesdropping but the wildlings drinking on the back were still talking loudly and weren’t paying attention to them.

“What was you doing there?” He said irritated in a hushed way.

“I was doing my job!” She said in the same hushed tone. Oh no no no... what they did to her? She realized what he is thinking because she added quickly   
“Not like that, stupid!!” And kicked him in the shins under the table.

He grunted blushing and avoiding her gaze, while rubbing his shin thinking that she definitely tore his skin off.

“Not that any of this is something of your concern...”she started, standing up. “but I wasn’t there to attend any clients...” he looked at her and now she was blushing too. 

“And for your information all the whores you dislike so much were all very kind to me...i think you shouldn’t judge people by what they do to survive...” and she finished her ale in one gulp looking at him with one brow lifted and said in a threatening tone that shouldn’t make his heart start to race the way it did. “One word about this to Jon and you don’t have to worry about the Others anymore.” 

“I’m going to Kingslanding tomorrow with or without you.” and then she turned around and left the Great hall, leaving him behind feeling ashamed, relieved, aroused, a bit scared and jealous of Jon’s pretty steward, all at once.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before Arya tell Tormund to fuck himself, he was mouthing to her “then do something about it!” referring to Gendry not being her man but our blacksmith haven’t seen it. the man is a Gendrya too and he know somethings.

**Author's Note:**

> This is a busy world we live in, but leave a comment if you have time and i will try to answer it when i have time :)


End file.
